Mumbai Confidential: Bungalow Mystery

With the term of the incumbent, Jageshwar Saharia, set to end on September 4, the state’s protocol department has already invited applications from bureaucrats interested for the post.

ACB says ‘no concrete evidence’ against Khadse

State’s Tourism Minister Jaikumar Rawal has finally moved into the famous address, which was branded as a “jinxed abode” following Eknath Khadse’s unceremonious exit from the government in 2016. (File photo)

Ramtek, the spacious sea-facing government bungalow in Malabar Hill, finally has a new occupant. State’s Tourism Minister Jaikumar Rawal has finally moved into the famous address, which was branded as a “jinxed abode” following Eknath Khadse’s unceremonious exit from the government in 2016. Even as there are tales of how battles were once waged between ministers to retain the bungalow, all those who have occupied it lately have courted trouble. So you have had former Maharashtra CM (late) Vilasrao Deshmukh, former Deputy CM (late) Gopinath Munde, NCP’s Chaggan Bhujbal and Khadse. Even Rawal, we are told, had sought the allotment for three months only.

Extended Term

While a petition challenging Thane civic commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal’s continuation in the post is pending before the Bombay High Court, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to continue him in the post for some more time, confirmed sources. Jaiswal, a 1996-batch IAS officer, is seen as a favourite of the CM and also shares a good rapport with Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde, the district’s guardian minister. The CM-led General Administration Department has also filed a reply before the court, justifying reasons necessitating Jaiswal’s continuance. Jaiswal has been holding the post since January 3, 2015.

Hectic Lobbying

Intense lobbying has already begun in the state bureaucracy for the state Election Commissioner’s post. With the term of the incumbent, Jageshwar Saharia, set to end on September 4, the state’s protocol department has already invited applications from bureaucrats interested for the post. With Additional Chief Secretary U P S Madan (1983) and Mumbai civic commissioner Ajoy Mehta (1984) set to retire in October and September respectively, speculation is rife that their names could be considered for the post. Incidentally, Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain’s extended tenure also comes to an end in July.

Not Being Heard

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With elections fast approaching, the state’s political leadership is in an understandable rush to launch popular schemes and policies. But if some senior bureaucrats are to be believed, this has also led to bypassing of business rules in some cases, where proposals were placed before the Cabinet and sanctioned without them being referred to all the administrative departments concerned.

On Hold

According to government sources, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has issued a clear message to the bureaucracy with the six-month extension granted to Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain. Expressing confidence in the state administrative set-up, Jain’s extension signals that Fadnavis is in no mood to undertake a major rejig in the senior bureaucracy in the run-up to the national elections. With some senior bureaucrats already completing four years in their current positions, a major rejig has been in the offing for some time now. But a senior bureaucrat pointed out that the absence of a full-time secretary in some of the departments had impacted the pace of administration.

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