Heads of all state corporations sacked

All the secretaries of departments have been asked to issue a separate order providing for dismissal of non-official heads as well as non-official members of the corporations and boards, the official said.

Since Akaram Dabade, chairperson, Mahatma Phuley Backward Class Development Corporation and the non-official members of the corporation had not resigned, Social Welfare secretary Suresh Salvi has promulgated the necessary order, the official added.

Vilas Awachat, president of the Maharashtra Housing and AreaDevelopment Authority MHADA, Girish Bapat, chairperson, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC and Prakash Jawdekar, vice-chairperson, State Planning Board, were among the first to resign from the boards immediately after the new Chief Minister was sworn-in.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Board is the only state-run enterprise headed by an Indian Administrative Service official. Energy secretary Pramod Deo has been appointed as the chairperson of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board MPCB.

Some of the corporations 8212; Krishna Valley Development Corporation and all the corporations set up under the irrigation department 8212; are headed by the Irrigation Minister, while the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation is headed by the Public Works Minister.

Maharashtra has a record number of 68 corporations or boards. By and large, non-official persons, mostly politicians, are appointed on these boards to rehabilitate them. In fact, the saffron alliance had created at least half adozen new corporations to accommodate defectors and disgruntled politicians.8220;We do not require so many boards. As per official records, except for 14 boards, all other corporations are running in losses. Their accumulated losses have touched an all-time high of 1,500 crore,8221; the official said.

In fact, during the tenure of Sudhakarrao Naik as chief minister, a cabinet sub-committee was set up to review the performance of the state-run enterprises. Subsequently, a high-level committee headed by former Member of the Planning Commission V B Rajadhyaksha was set up to recommend to the government measures for the revival of sick corporations.

In its last report submitted to the state legislature, the committee had recommended immediate closure of 18 corporations which do not serve any purpose. 8220;Such corporations, which cannot generate resources even for paying their own employees and which do not serve any public purpose should be closed,8221; the committee had observed.

The official said the new ChiefMinister will have to take hard decisions, particularly when the state is passing through one of the worst financial crises. 8220;The government is spending huge amounts on allowances and perks for the non-official heads as well as members of the state-run corporations. The Chief Minister should do a rethink on the necessity of crisis-ridden corporations,8221; the official told Express Newsline.