Former commissioner Praveen Pardeshi set to head state think tank MITRA

Chief minister Eknath Shinde has picked former BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi as the CEO of MITRA (Maharashtra Institution for Transformation), a think tank set up on the lines of Niti Aayog, people familiar with the development said

Chief minister Eknath Shinde has picked former BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi as the CEO of MITRA (Maharashtra Institution for Transformation), a think tank set up on the lines of Niti Aayog, people familiar with the development said. A formal order announcing his appointment will be issued soon.

Mumbai, India - September 20, 2019: MCGM Municipal Commissioner Shri Praveen Pardeshi speaks about need of Metro rail and Sustainable Development at Khetan School Auditorium, Malad (W) in Mumbai, India, on Friday, September 20, 2019. (Photo by Satyabrata Tripathy/Hindustan Times) (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

Pardeshi, a retired IAS officer of 1985 batch, is currently working as a member of the central government’s National Capacity Building Commission.

MITRA will be headed by the CM. Shinde had on December 1, last year, appointed his close aide and builder Ajay Ashar, and former legislator Rajendra Kshirsagar to the MITRA panel as vice presidents. On December 17, HT had reported that Pardeshi would be selected as its CEO.

Pardeshi, 62, was widely appreciated for rehabilitation work after an earthquake hit Latur in 1993 when he was the collector. He has handled the chief minister’s office for leaders such as Devendra Fadnavis and Vilasrao Deshmukh.

During his tenure as the BMC commissioner, he oversaw the setting up of infrastructure for Covid-19 treatment. However, he was shunted out following differences with his seniors in the first wave. He was posted as urban development secretary, but he chose a deputation with the United Nations. After Sanjay Kumar retired as chief secretary in February 2021, Pardeshi was eager to take the job, but the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray decided to appoint his batchmate Manu Kumar Srivastava. Pardeshi returned to the government for a day as additional chief secretary of Marathi language department and took VRS and joined the National Capacity Building Commission.

In another development, Shinde has cleared the appointment of additional director general of police Brijesh Singh as principal secretary in his secretariat, which already has Bhushan Gagrani as additional chief secretary and Vikas Kharge as principal secretary. Singh has been included on the recommendation of deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, officials said.

An IPS officer of 1996 batch, Singh was the Director General of Information and Public Relations when Fadnavis was the CM from 2014 to 2019. He was also in charge the cyber security wing.