Maharashtra government transfers Panvel civic chief, 24 other IAS officers

In a major reshuffle of IAS officers, state government transferred as many as 25 IAS officers, while chief minister Devendra Fadnavis appeared to have bowed before political pressure for the transfer of the Panvel commissioner Sudhakar Shinde.

Shinde, who has been popular among citizens for his people-friendly schemes, including a plastic ban, was at loggerheads with political leaders for not giving into their pressure.

A no confidence motion was moved on March 26 by the BJP-led corporation’s general body against Shinde, who was appointed as the commissioner of the newly-formed commsionerate of Panvel in October 2016. The motion was suspended by the state government last week.

Days after the motion was turned down, the state transferred him as CEO of the Mahatma Jotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana.

This has not been the first incident of political leadership giving in to the political pressure. Tukaram Mundhe, who is currently the commissioner of the Nashik Municipal Corporation was transferred thrice in last four years. He faced flashpoints with the political leaders as the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corproation chief, before he was transferred to the Pune Municipal Transport Corporation Limited last year.

Sunil Kendrekar, another upright offcer in the civil service, was transferred from the post of Agriculture commissioner last year after he took strong steps against the seed companies.