Premium

Days after excluding him, Maharashtra government makes room for Eknath Shinde in disaster management authority

The newly restructured State Disaster Management Authority in Maharashtra will now have 10 members, including deputy chief ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

Maharashtra Disaster Management Authority

Before the state cabinet meeting, an upset Shinde had said that he had no idea when the committee had been formed. (Express Archive Photo/ Sankhadeep Banerjee)

Three days after The Indian Express reported that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was kept out of the newly restructured State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), even as his counterpart Ajit Pawar was included, the state cabinet on Tuesday decided to modify the rules and include Shinde too.

Before the state cabinet meeting, an upset Shinde had said that he had no idea when the committee had been formed. “I am not bothered about the committee. But be assured that whenever there is a disaster, this Eknath Shinde stands to help people,” Shinde added.

Last week on Thursday, the government had announced a restructured nine-member SDMA headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. While the chief secretary was the CEO, the other members included Pawar, BJP’s Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Revenue Minister, and Girish Mahajan, Disaster Management Minister, NCP’s Makarand Jadhav-Patil, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister, and Shiv Sena’s Prakash Abitkar, Public Health Minister. Professors Ravi Sinha and Dipankar Chaudhari from IIT-Mumbai were the non-government members.

Story continues below this ad

On Tuesday, after the cabinet meeting, Mahajan said the committee will now have 10 members. “Both deputy CMs are now included in the committee. Earlier, there used to be only one chief minister. Now there are two deputy CMs, therefore, both Shinde and Ajit dada are part of this authority,” Mahajan added.

The Opposition NCP (SP) took a dig at the government saying rectifying the mistake after being exposed is no less of an insult to Shinde. “When the first list of members was issued, Shinde, being a former CM, should have been there. Shinde should now take a stand to not join this authority after this insult,” said Jitendra Awhad, NCP (SP) MLA.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Loading Taboola...

Air India safety violations, Air India show cause notices, Air India Boeing 787 crash, Air India London Gatwick crash, DGCA Air India inspections,

‘Unfortunate’: SC slams reports suggesting ‘pilot error’ led to Air India crash

Legal4 hr ago

The Supreme Court Monday issued notice on a plea seeking an independent and expeditious investigation into the June 12, 2025, crash of an Air India Boeing Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people. The bench also termed as “unfortunate” media reports which indicated that “pilot error” was to blame for the crash, purportedly quoting some preliminary findings by the AAIB.

View all shorts

Live Blog