On Day 1, new Maharashtra ministers put on their game faces

The new ministers were sworn in on December 15, during the winter session of the state legislature, and were assigned their portfolios on December 22

MUMBAI: Some are first-timers, others seasoned ministers, but they have one thing in common – they want their respective departments, and the people, to know they mean business. So, just two days after assuming office, newly sworn-in ministers in the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance government cracked the whip on officers in their respective departments. Corruption in government transfers wouldn’t be tolerated, they said, nor would underperformance, among other things. Perhaps eager to show they were serious, they seemed to forget that it was the same Mahayuti government that had ruled the state for the last two and a half years.

Social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat turned up unannounced at a hostel for backward class students in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (HT Photo)

The new ministers were sworn in on December 15, during the winter session of the state legislature, and were assigned their portfolios on December 22. While some have assumed office, others are likely to take charge on Thursday, which is Margashirsha, an auspicious day.

Here’s what some of them did on day one:

‘Aren’t you ashamed?’

When social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat turned up unannounced at a hostel for backward class students in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Tuesday, he was not impressed. He found walls with seepage, broken window panes, no running water, among other issues that made the hostel almost unlivable. “Aren’t you ashamed of this? Why don’t you come and stay here,” he roared at the officers in charge, in the full glare of the media, who had turned up to capture the moment.

Shirsat, Shiv Sena spokesperson and MLA from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, is a first-time minister.

‘No more bribes for transfers’

Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, at a meeting of officers from his department, said he would put a stop to the bribes-for-transfers culture. “Appointments of talathis (local revenue officers in a tehsil) and district collectors, as well as postings from Mantralaya to Nagpur will not be done on (political) recommendations. Nobody can get a transfer for a fee,” he announced, at a function organised by Tarun Bharat newspaper in Nagpur, where he was felicitated on Tuesday.

Bawankule, who is also Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president and a close aide of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, was energy minister in the BJP-led government in 2014-2019.

‘Crack down on drugs mafia’

Minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam shook things up at a police station in Navi Mumbai, where he showed up unexpectedly and asked the officers what they were doing to tackle the drugs trade in the city. As a parting shot, he advised the officer in charge to crack down on the narcotics mafia.

‘More vessels for coastal patrolling’

Ports and fisheries minister Nitesh Rane (BJP), another first-time minister, met officers of his departments in Mantralaya and later told the media that he was raising the bar for his department. He hopes surprise visits will keep them on their toes. Rane, who took charge on Tuesday, also said more vessels would be procured for costal patrolling as coastal surveillance is a priority.

‘Let’s tackle teachers’ issues’

Education minister Dada Bhuse (Shiv Sena) convened a meeting of teachers and teaching staff at the government rest house in his constituency, Malegaon, and also asked them what challenges they were facing.

‘Will introduce elevated buses on ropeway’

Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik (Shiv Sena) turned sentimental as he moved into his new office in Mantralaya on Tuesday. Addressing the media, he recalled how he used to visit Mantralaya when he was 12 years old, to sell calendars and incense sticks to make a living. “We used to stay in Dadar and I used to come to Mantralaya wearing shorts to sell agarbattis and calendars to earn a living,’’ said Sarnaik. He also recalled driving an autorickshaw and selling omelet sandwiches in the 1980s. Sarnaik, who now owns a construction company and a hospitality business, is a four-time MLA from Owala-Majiwada constituency in Thane.

He vowed to put a stop to political interference in the transfers of officers. “Transfers based on recommendations of political leaders will not be entertained in my department. I want to beat the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) into shape,’’ he said.

Sarnaik said he wanted the transport department to introduce an “elevated bus transport system on a ropeway” in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, adding that Union surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari had said the state could get a central grant for this purpose. He said he would visit Karnataka to study the state transport system there.