An IAS officer of the 1984 batch, Ajoy Mehta, who on Monday took over as the 42nd chief secretary of Maharashtra, faces a daunting task of expediting all drought relief and mitigation work in 151 tehsils covering 28,524 villages, through proper coordination between the district administration and the government. He will also have to actively coordinate with all guardian secretaries, who have been directed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to visit their respective drought-affected districts and ensure effective implementation of drought mitigation measures and then, submit a detailed report by May 21.
Immediately after taking charge, Mehta attended the Chief Minister's interaction through audio bridge (con call) with Sarpanchs(village heads) and local administration officials from Pune, Satara, and Sangli districts.
Mehta said he was studying the issues concerning the state. He, however, recalled that during his tenure between 1992 and 1995 as the Ahmednagar district collector he had extensively carried out drought mitigation work there.
Mehta, who earlier worked as municipal commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Commissioner (BMC) between April 2015 and May 2019, has his task cut out as the chief secretary. He was called on by the secretaries from various departments who briefed him about the ongoing work in the drought-hit districts in particular and in rest of Maharashtra.
Mehta, who has spent 10 years in the state power sector between 2005 and 2015, will have to seek an update from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MahaVitaran) for uninterrupted power supply so that the water supply schemes, especially in the drought-affected districts, are not hampered. The government has already cleared bills towards various water supply schemes in such districts.
As far as the works being undertaken under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the government has already cleared 28 projects including water conservation, soil conservation, and construction of boundary walls for schools. Mehta will have to hold periodical reviews with the district administration for the timely launch of such projects so that the villagers get jobs.
Furthermore, after the recent killing of 15 policemen and a driver by the suspected leftist insurgents in Gadchiroli district, the state government said it will give a befitting reply to ensure no further casualty takes place. Already the state director general of police Subodh Jaiswal has visited Gadchiroli and submitted his findings to the government. Mehta will have to supervise the anti-Naxal operations in close coordination with the Home Department.
To Act In Tandem
- Mehta will now have to hold periodical reviews with the district administration for timely launch of projects so that villagers get jobs
- Under the MGNREGS, the state has already cleared 28 projects
- The projects are on water conservation, soil conservation, and construction of boundary walls for schools
- The govt has also cleared bills for water supply schemes
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 "Ajoy Mehta, U P S Madan")
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