Premium

Mumbai Confidential: Making A Comeback

On February 11, Devendra Fadnavis had transferred Medha Gadgil out of the Relief and Rehabilitation department, posting her as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Financial Corporation, which is seen as an inconsequential posting.

medha gadgil, devendra fadnavis, narendra modi, amit shah, demonetisation, bjp shiv sena alliance, bjp shiv sena, uddhav thackeray, general administration department, kishor nimbalkar, ias officer, ias secretary, kp bakshi, central vigilance committee, maharashtra public service commission, chandrakant patil, mumbai, mumbai confidential, indian express news

Sources confirmed that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has agreed to revise the 1983-batch IAS officer’s transfer, and post her as an Additional Chief Secretary in the CM-led General Administration Department.

A week after being shunted out of Mantralaya, Medha Gadgil, the state’s seniormost bureaucrat, is set to make a comeback. Sources confirmed that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has agreed to revise the 1983-batch IAS officer’s transfer, and post her as an Additional Chief Secretary in the CM-led General Administration Department. Gadgil is said to have suggested the option herself, and is willing to accept it. On February 11, Fadnavis had transferred Gadgil out of the Relief and Rehabilitation department, posting her as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Financial Corporation, which is seen as an inconsequential posting.

Pacemaker

Some eyebrows are being raised in the state’s senior bureaucracy over Kishor Nimbalkar’s appointment as the new secretary of the Relief and Rehabilitation department. Nimbalkar, a 2003-batch IAS officer, was promoted to the secretary rank only in January this year. With the department being at the centre of drought relief and mitigation measures, the post has traditionally been occupied by a much higher-ranked IAS officer. According to sources, the CMO wants to control the pace of the ongoing drought relief and rehabilitation work, hence decided to appoint a junior IAS secretary on the post.

Money Matters

A Central Vigilance Committee’s report to the Maharashtra government seeking a probe into high-valued transactions carried out by a retired top bureaucrat, K P Bakshi, has rekindled an old story in the state bureaucracy. Tales abound in the corridors of power about how some senior bureaucrats and cops, panicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sudden demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, had made a mad dash for exchanging their currency notes at that time. The grapevine is that for some of them, the destination for this conversion was not the banks.

In The Fray

According to sources, the race for the vacant Maharashtra Public Service Commission chairman’s post is heating up, with several retired bureaucrats and cops in the fray. With the name of outgoing DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar also being linked to the post in the corridors of power, the word is that the Chief Minister would name his choice within a week. Even while sources are now ruling out a major rejig in the senior bureaucracy in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, sources said some transfers are in the offing.

The Ultimatum

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis cancelled his trip to Washim midway on February 14, and returned to Mumbai. Initially, there were reports that he had returned owing to ill health, but when the CM rushed to Uddhav Thackeray’s residence after landing in Mumbai, things took a different turn. Thackeray is said to have sounded an ultimatum to the BJP leadership over alliance talks, which had prompted the CM and Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, considered close to BJP chief Amit Shah, to rush to Matoshri.

First uploaded on: 18-02-2019 at 08:47 IST

Karnataka Congressman who accompanied Rahul Gandhi on Yatra joins BJP

CitiesApril 26, 2024 10:55 IST

Dr Shushruth Gowda, a renowned doctor from Mysuru and KPCC general secretary, left the Congress and joined the BJP after being denied a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections. He is the son of late Dr H C Vishnumurthy, a socialist and founder chairman of a hospital in Mysuru. Gowda praised PM Modi's work and vowed to work for BJP candidate Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar's win.

View all shorts

Live Blog