The State government’s reins have been handed over to a Group of Ministers, which has been empowered to take vital decisions in the absence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Mr. Fadnavis is on a nine-day tour to the U.S. and Canada where he is meeting industry captains and world leaders in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning, besides other political engagements including a scheduled closed-door meet with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
The high-level ministerial group has been empowered to take charge of ‘all matters’ that will need to be decided under an emergency or a crisis-like situation without consulting the State Cabinet. Senior officials said the GoM will be in charge of government matters and functioning till June 16 when the CM returns. The pattern is likely to be followed for the CM’s future trips abroad, senior officials said.
The orders to set up the GoM were issued on Monday following instructions from Mr. Fadnavis and under Rule 6-A of the Maharashtra Administrative Procedures. The GoM comprises Finance and Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, Water Resources and Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan and Revenue, Public Works Department and Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Chandrakant Patil. All three are considered close to the chief minister. “These three pretty much define the hierarchy in the State Cabinet and command the full trust of the CM,” a senior minister said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Fadnavis held talks on the fourth day of his tour discussing waterways and electric vehicles with global chief executive officers in Montreal on Tuesday. The delegation visited Port De Montreal to understand how to leverage waterways as an asset for cargo movement and logistics. The port is an international container port servicing Toronto and the rest of Central Canada, the US Midwest and Northeast and handles an annual cargo tonnage 35.357 million metric tonnes.
The State delegation also held meetings with officials of the Hydro-Quebec, leading hydro power producer, discussing a roadmap for Maharashtra’s e-vehicle policy, and Michael Sabia, CEO, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, an institutional investor that manages public pension plans and insurance programmes in Quebec, Canada.