MUMBAI: Senior bureaucrat Praveen Pardeshi, who is currently additional chief secretary to Chief Minister Devendra Fadvanis, has been appointed the new commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Pardeshi, a 1985-batch IAS Officer, will take charge as the BMC chief Monday.
Known as 'super bureaucrat,’ Pardeshi has been a key member of Fadnavis' A team. He was initially appointed as the principal secretary when Fadnavis took office in 2014, and later made additional chief secretary. Pardeshi has extensive administrative experience, having served in various departments, including Revenue and Forest.
A post-graduate in economics, Pardeshi brings to the table deep experience in urban planning from his time as the municipal commissioner of Pimpri-Chinchwad as well as Pune. Pardeshi first rose to prominence during his tenure as the district collector of Latur, where he successfully rehabilitated victims of the hugely destructive earthquake that had struck the district.
A soft-spoken IAS officer, Pardeshi is Fadnavi’s most trusted aide. He is entrusted with the supervision of the chief minister’s pet initiative ‘The War Room’ along with Kaustubh Dhavse, an officer on special duty in the chief minister's office.
The War Room was set up in the Mantralaya to fast-track the state government’s infrastructure and development projects by bringing together the various government agencies involved in their execution. Pardeshi and Dhavse were assigned to monitor the projects and follow through on the decisions made.
Pardeshi's administrative acumen and efficiency was on full display during the devastating floods in Kerala last year. CM Fadnavis had entrusted him with the mission to deliver Rs 20 crore of aid to the flood victims. He had his task cut out — to coordinate with government departments, non-government organisations, businesses, businessmen and members of the public to deliver the state's flood relief on time. Under Pardeshi's leadership, the state administration worked like a well-oiled machine and ensured that the Maharashtra government's aid reached the flood victims without any delays.
