Political, Bureaucratic Hassles Surface As Maharashtra Battles Mounting Covid Crisis

Date:

The latest incident relates to the sudden transfer of Shekhar Gaikwad, the Municipal Commissioner of Pune, who has been replaced by Vikram Kumar, a bureaucrat who headed the city’s regional development authority and is seen close to Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister and guardian minister for Pune

Ashok Kumar | Clarion India

MUMBAI – With Covid-19 cases soaring in Maharashtra, which now has almost a quarter million people infected by the disease and more than 10,000 deaths, the government is battling on several fronts including political and bureaucratic.

The state registered more than 8,100 Covid-19 cases on Saturday and nearly 225 deaths, with Mumbai, the capital, and Pune being the worst hit.

The three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which comprises parties like the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is also witnessing turmoil with leaders pursuing their own agenda.

And this is having an adverse impact on the bureaucracy. The latest incident relates to the sudden transfer of Shekhar Gaikwad, the Municipal Commissioner of Pune, who has been replaced by Vikram Kumar, a bureaucrat who headed the city’s regional development authority and is seen close to Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister and guardian minister for Pune.

Gaikwad has openly opposed the move of Pawar to reimpose a 10-day lockdown in Pune from Tuesday, claiming that this was not in the interest of the poor, who have suffered a lot.

The move to transfer the top Pune administrator arbitrarily and within six months of his taking over as the municipal commissioner has been widely criticised. Vivek Velankar, a leading activist and founder of NGO Sajag Nagrik Manch, told Clarion India on Sunday that the new official would take time to settle in his job, which would cause further delays.

“Gaikwad has been a good administrator, but there are many lobbies that are opposed to such bureaucrats,” he said. “Many do not like straight-forward bureaucrats and get them transferred.”

The outgoing municipal commissioner of Pune has faced flak from other politicians who were virtually sidelined by him while taking decisions relating to tackling the Covid crisis. He had also opted for setting up ‘micro-containment zones’ in the city, instead of imposing a blanket ban on entire localities.

His transfer and the reintroduction of the 10-day lockout has drawn criticism from business bodies and industry groups in Pune and the nearby city of Pimpri-Chinchwad.

A few weeks ago, the then civic chief of Mumbai, Praveen Pardeshi was also abruptly transferred and replaced by another bureaucrat, Iqbal Chahal. The transfer generated a controversy and a squabble between various political parties.

Coronavirus infections continue to sweep across Mumbai, which reports a growing number of cases every day. The total number of positive cases has breached the 90,000 figure, while the casualties have shot up above 5,200.

But instead of focusing on tackling the spread of the disease, top political leaders in the alliance are engaged in a battle transferring bureaucrats and police officers.

This has resulted in confusion in official circles, especially with the arbitrary transfers of bureaucrats and top police officials. Nearly a dozen senior Mumbai police officers were transferred, but later brought back to their original posts after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray intervened.

Municipal commissioners in the satellite cities of Mumbai have also been transferred arbitrarily in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis, leading to high-level interventions. Bureaucrats and police officials are worried that sudden transfers (and the re-transfers) in the midst of the war on Coronavirus has a demoralising effect on the entire government machinery.

The NCP and the Congress also criticise Thackeray, the chief minister and Shiv Sena leader, for letting bureaucrats run the show and for operating from his home in the suburb of Bandra, instead of from Mantralaya, the state government headquarters.

 

 

 

 

theclarionindia
theclarionindiahttps://clarionindia.net
Clarion India - News, Views and Insights about Indian Muslims, Dalits, Minorities, Women and Other Marginalised and Dispossessed Communities.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share post:

Subscribe

spot_imgspot_img

Popular

More like this
Related

Security Beefed up Ahead of INDIA Bloc Protest in Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday had said...

UN Expert Says She Faces Threats after Israel-Gaza Genocide Report

GENEVA - A United Nations expert who published a report saying...

ICJ Tells Israel to Ensure Urgent Assistance in Gaza

THE HAGUE - The world’s top court on Thursday...

Mukhtar Ansari Dies in Banda Jail, Security Tightened in UP

Ansari had earlier told the court that he was...