Maharashtra: Eyebrows raised as Akola collector, municipal commissioner swap places in reshuffle

NAGPUR: In a unique reshuffle of IAS officials, the state government has transferred Akola city’s municipal commissioner Nima Arora as Akola district collector while the collector, Jitendra Papalkar, to the post of municipal commissioner.
The transfer orders, issued by the state government on Tuesday night, have invited controversy. While Arora took charge from Papalkar on Thursday, the latter is yet to take the charge as commissioner.
Sources said that being a senior, it’s unlikely Papalkar will take charge as commissioner of a grade C municipal corporation after working as district collector of the same district for more than two years now.
It is for the first time that such swap of senior IAS officials has happened. Arora was appointed as Akola municipal commissioner in February 2021. Her transfer was not expected in just five months.
Papalkar is an IAS officer of the 2010 batch while Arora is from the 2014 batch. Being in-charge of the whole district, Papalkar had more administrative powers than Arora. Considering the issue of seniority in the cadre, people in the administrative circles in Akola were wondering how Papalkar was appointed as the municipal commissioner.
Sources said that Arora had invited ire of some local politicians as she was working aggressively against encroachments in the city. She was transferred under political pressure.
But as Papalkar is yet to take the charge, Arora is now shouldering both the responsibilities, as municipal commissioner and district collector.
In Amravati, 2014 batch IAS officer Pawaneet Kaur on Thursday took charge as collector from Shailesh Naval, who has been shifted as deputy secretary to Mantralaya.
Later, addressing the media, the new collector said that vaccination drive, rehabilitation issues and arresting malnutrition would be her priorities.
Kaur has worked as project officer and assistant collector at Jawhar in Palghar district, CEO of Aurangabad ZP, commissioner of Tribal Research and Training Institute and Women and Child Development in Pune.