IAS officer Shrikar Pardeshi, who took a ‘historic decision’ during his stint in Pune nearly 10 years ago, has been appointed secretary to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. This order came within two days of Fadnavis taking over as Chief Minister.
“I am happy to have the opportunity to serve under the leadership of the Chief Minister”, said Pardeshi The Indian Express Saturday. He said, ‘I was in the Prime Minister’s Office when I was the Chief Minister in the previous term.
Foreigners worked Secretary to Fadnavis During his two-and-a-half-year tenure as Deputy Chief Minister in Mahayuti. “Pardesh has developed a good rapport with Fadnavis. Shrikar Pardeshi is known for his honesty, integrity and efficiency in work. The Mahayuti government has got a big mandate and the people have high expectations from the Chief Minister and his government. An officer like Pardeshi is needed to help the government meet the expectations of the people,” BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhyay said.
As an IAS officer, Pardeshi received a lot of praise for his tough handling of illegal construction cases in Pimpri-Chinchwad. About 10 years ago, during his tenure, his PCMC administration demolished around 500 illegal constructions of top leaders of various parties. He earned the nickname Demolition Man. Although the city began to breathe freely, even though development picked up speed, some people did not like his initiative. As a result, his life was at risk. But Pardeshi persisted and continued his campaign. “No other IAS officer before him had taken strict action against the illegal construction of top political leaders like Pardeshi. Despite threats to save his life, Pardeshi did what he thought was right,” said advocate Sushil Mancharkar.
And after giving him charge of the city’s transport body, Pune Mahanagar Pariwan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML), Pardeshi took the historic decision regarding bus ticketing. Following up on complaints from citizens – an issue that was often highlighted The Indian Express – Foreigners are required to issue tickets in round figures of Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 15 and Rs 20. This move has ensured an end to constant fights between conductors and passengers over late changes in buses. “It was a historic decision in 2014 when Pardeshi was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of PMPML. Every day, around 11 lakh passengers travel through PMPML. And every day, clashes between conductors and passengers were seen over the late change of buses. Passengers did not own the late change but the conductors insisted on paying them the required change. Because of this, there are frequent fights in the bus. However, foreigners have introduced a system of giving tickets in round figures of Rs 5 and Rs 10. And this system continues till date,” said Jugal Rathi, head of PMP Pravasi Mancha, a commuters’ organization.
Pardeshi also took other steps to streamline the functioning of PMPML. After the exit of Pardeshi, PMPML again found itself struggling to meet the expectations of the people.
After his stint at PMPML, Pardeshi had the opportunity to work first as a director and then as a joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office where he served for six years before returning to Maharashtra. “Both Fadnavis and Srikar Pardeshi get along well. We are confident that their team will do wonders for the people of Maharashtra,” said a BJP leader.
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