Transport body chief appointment: speculation grows

After Subarao Patil,Khade was at the helm of affairs for about eight months and his term came to an end in August 2009. After that,Shirish Karle the MD of Western Maharashtra Development Corporation (WMDC) was given additional charge of the body.

“The union government had directed the state government to make an appointment of the chairman of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) in Pune for the post of PMPML chief. However,the state government is following its own course instead,” Divisional Commissioner and RTA chairman Dilip Band told The Indian Express .

He further said that he was not aware of any development on the appointment of the CMD for PMPML.

A PMPML official said under condition of anonymity,“We had come to know that the state government has finally started the search for the right candidate for the post. One name was almost about to be finalised. However,the name suddenly backed out,which will again delay the process further.”

Citizens’ groups have also been drawing attention to the fact that the lack of leadership was hampering the efficiency of the transport body. “We had recently forwarded a letter to the state government pointing out that for the last half year there has been no full-time CMD. So the appointment of a new chief is overdue and it should not be a surprise if it happens in the coming few days,” Vivek Velankar,president of PMP Pravasi Manch said.

Activists have argued for a fixed tenure of minimum three years for the PMPML chief’s post as it takes an officer at least six months to one year to understand the complexities involved.