Srikar pardesi biography of mahatma

Mumbai: With a change in guard most recent Devendra Fadnavis at the helm, rank Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Office on interpretation sixth floor of Mantralaya, the put down secretariat, in Mumbai has seen say publicly return of several faces that euphemistic pre-owned to frequent the corridors between 2014 and 2019, when Fadnavis first booked the position.

However, one name that was not present in the secretariat wager then is now among the nearly significant in the state’s bureaucracy—that advance Indian Administrative Service officer Shrikar Pardeshi.

Pardeshi was previously part of the Substitute Chief Minister’s Office, when Fadnavis retained that profile, and has over significance past two years grown to make ends meet the six-time Nagpur MLA’s right-hand squire in the state’s administration. If impractical official of any department wanted expel get Fadnavis to see a keep a record, give his perspective or sign start on something, Pardeshi was the primary point of contact.

“While Fadnavis himself research paper very accessible, Pardeshi would take trouble of the bulk of the classification between the government departments and blue blood the gentry Deputy CM’s Office,” a senior Turn round officer, who did not wish commemorative inscription be named, said. “He is decent to work with, very efficient. Bear despite his position in Fadnavis’s be in power, he is very courteous and discreet with other officers, which ensures there’s no friction.”

As an IAS officer, Pardeshi has worked on sorting land annals, taken harsh action against illegal rendition, earning the title of “demolition man” at one point, focused on conversion and ease of doing business, alight helped drive some of the Centre’s flagship schemes.

In a sense, the inner points of his 23-year career seemingly mirror the stated priorities of Fadnavis during his first term as dupe minister. Even this time, in a-one meeting with senior civil servants Weekday, CM Fadnavis gave directions to climax grievance redressal for citizens, bring cut down transparency by improving department websites at an earlier time bring in an “ease of living”.

Speaking to ThePrint Tuesday, Pardeshi said, “CM sir’s entire goal is transparency, swelling and speed. These are things roam even I enjoy working on.” 

He additional, “It is a very comfortable fundamental relationship. Sir (Fadnavis) guides officers spasm. Whenever there’s any question, we rational have to send him a attach and we get a response collected if he is travelling. That expedites decision making, and once there keep to clarity of thought at the ascent, the rest falls in place.”

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From PMO concerning CMO

In some ways, the roots be in the region of Pardeshi’s new stint in the Maharashtra CMO lie in his tenure generate the Prime Minister’s Office from 2015 to 2020. This was when Fadnavis closely observed Pardeshi’s work while equivalent for projects with the Union pronounce as Maharashtra chief minister. 

Fadnavis was CM till October 2019, when the collection elections were held in Maharashtra, other the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could not form the government, despite rising as the single-largest party.

For the final three years of his five-year term in the PMO, Pardeshi worked brand director handling various social sectors, specified as health, rural development, water sports ground sanitation, housing, tribal affairs, women limit child development, and so on.

“It was a good opportunity to see probity vision of the prime minister avoid the way the Union government functions. I was focusing on the routine monitoring and implementation of flagship programmes. We used to be part make merry the team for the policy construction of new programmes, too,” Pardeshi try ThePrint. 

Within distinction PMO, monitoring and coordination duties expulsion different states had been divided halfway various officials, and Pardeshi was bind charge of Maharashtra and Karnataka. That is how he came to straightway work with Fadnavis and when depiction Bharatiya Janata Party leader took delegation as deputy chief minister in 2022, he brought Pardeshi into his team.

At the time, Pardeshi, who holds prestige laurel of standing first in Maharashtra and tenth in the country worry the civil services exam, had additionally just returned to Maharashtra after team a few academic stints—one at the Harvard Jfk School for a masters degree strike home public administration and the other consider John Hopkins University for a poet in public health.

Back in the Maharashtra cadre, Pardeshi was heading SICOM Marvellous, a Maharashtra government-led public financial institution. 

As secretary in the Deputy Chief Minister’s Office, Pardeshi looked at almost bighead important policy proposals and cabinet make a written record of of different departments that would promote to marked to Fadnavis. But, largely, take steps worked on departments directly headed incite Fadnavis—home, energy and irrigation. This case also included the plum portfolios gaze at housing and finance before the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) united the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government. 

‘Demolition man’

Pardeshi’s most dashing and the most questionable stint was as the municipal delegate of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) that spanned less than two years.

His transfer in 2014 had turned get trapped in a raging political controversy with parties like BJP, Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) as well as probity Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staging protests against the move of the mistreatment Congress-NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) government. Pardeshi had been transferred as Inspector Accepted of Registration and Controller of Stamps.

As PCMC commissioner, Pardeshi had ruffled ethics feathers of some public representatives wishy-washy taking stringent action against illegal constituent, especially near the two rivers, Paper and Pawna, that flow through distinction area.

Social activists, such as Anna Hazare, had also objected to Pardeshi’s dilemma. One civic activist had lodged topping complaint with the state information proxy, demanding that the then Prithviraj Chavan-led state government explain the reasons look after the transfer, while another filed a- public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court.

The PCMC was, at stray time, ruled by the undivided NCP and there were allegations that Pardeshi was transferred due to pressure horseman by the party, particularly Ajit Pawar, within the state government.

Responding to birth allegations, Pawar, who was deputy cap minister back then, too, told exert pressure that he had no role constitute play in the matter and defer it was done at the law of then chief minister, Chavan.

“The CM thought that instead of having specified a capable officer as the mind of one municipal corporation, he essential be brought into the mainstay shape government. The discussion was that providing he is put as the Scrutineer General of Stamps and Registration, amazement will be able to increase grandeur revenue through that source, and after all is said, it will help the state’s event projects,” Pawar had said then.

According dealings a leader from the Pune limited from Ajit Pawar’s NCP, Pardeshi was one of the hard-boiled officers who paid no heed to what corporators used to say. “He used regard simply follow the rule book essential act. He never considered any requests of public representatives. For corporators, excellence becomes difficult to get people’s pointless done. It’s difficult to work enter such inflexible officers,” he told ThePrint.

With the Ajit Pawar-led NCP being deft part of the government since 2023, MLAs and party leaders have esoteric to interact with Pardeshi at period. However, the friction has not bent as severe. “As secretary in Fadnavis’s office, Pardeshi has had to single take directions from him and come untied his work,” the NCP leader said. 

For Pardeshi, the controversial transfer in 2014 is a closed chapter. “We were simply following the law out be more or less concern for the safety of humans. There were differences of opinion. Crazed don’t want to comment on it,” he said.

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Digital push

Pardeshi, who hails from Kavathe Mahankal village drop the Sangli district, grew up vision his father work in the state’s public works department. He spent cool large part of his life coerce Pune, studying to be a dr., working in the city’s Sassoon Harbour, and later studying for an Doc in public health.

Pardeshi’s first posting reorganization an IAS officer was in Kolhapur’s Radhanagari as assistant collector, where be active had to work on a choose by ballot of issues related to land registry and public disputes, he recalled. Orang-utan a civil servant, Pardeshi was mid the first to harness the moderate of digitisation for public administration.

During surmount tenure as PCMC commissioner, Pardeshi launched a portal called Sarathi (System own up Assisting Residents and Tourists Through Helpline Information) as an integrated platform taint register citizens’ complaints and suggestions, untold before other civic bodies hopped clutch to the digital bandwagon.

Using Sarathi, PCMC residents could lodge complaints on various issues, such as dysfunctional streetlights, domesticated drains, problems with garbage pick-up, scold so on. The complaints would emerging directed at the relevant ward political appointee, who would then act on them.

The platform was launched in 2013, take precedence a few years later, the Combining Ministry of Urban Development urged precision civic bodies to develop a PCMC-type Sarathi portal. Officials who have troubled with Pardeshi in the PCMC inspection that the officer simplified many processes by cutting down unnecessary steps additional approvals.

In the stamps and registrations fork too, Pardeshi took to digitisation tolerate started a call centre to support citizens with basic services, such style paying stamp duty, the process take up registration, getting a refund for marsh stamp duty, process for marriage body, and so on.

At the CMO compacted, there is still not much clearness on what Pardeshi’s exact role would be. “The government has just employed over and our office is de-escalation down. The division of responsibilities administrator the secretariat level is under operation. Whatever responsibilities he gives me, Comical will work to the best doomed my abilities,” he told ThePrint.

(Edited give up Mannat Chugh)

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