Panchal appointed as Thane’s new collector

Mumbai appoints Shrikrishna Panchal as Thane district collector, replacing Ashok Shingare. Panchal, an IAS officer, aims to strengthen BJP-Shiv Sena ties.

Mumbai: The state government on Wednesday appointed Shrikrishna Panchal as the collector of the Thane district. Panchal, the former collector of Jalna district, will replace Ashok Shingare who is set to retire on Thursday.

Panchal appointed as Thane’s new collector

Coming from Latur, Panchal was a part of the 2016 batch of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, prior to which he did an MBBS from Mumbai’s JJ Hospital in 2013.

Thane is a major district and satellite town of Mumbai, and its guardian minister is none other than deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. Panchal’s new role will also involve maintaining the relationship between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena in the area.

Panchal has been replaced by Ashima Mittal as the collector of Jalna. Among his batchmates are Saurabh Katiyar, collector of Mumbai suburbs, Indurani Jakhar, collector of Palghar, and Abhinav Goel, commissioner of Kalyan Dombivali.

Amid a bureaucratic re-shuffle, the state had appointed Vikas Kharge as the additional chief secretary of revenue, and Anil Diggikar as the additional chief secretary of food and civil supplies.