Mumbai, February 27 – The suspension of the Secretary of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has triggered a political storm in the state, drawing attention to the power dynamics within the ruling alliance.
The MPCB is headed by Siddhesh Kadam of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, while it functions under the jurisdiction of the Environment Department, led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pankaja Munde.
On Thursday evening, protem Speaker Dilip Lande ordered the suspension of two officials from the MPCB after Munde informed the Legislative Assembly that they were unavailable for a briefing convened by her. Lande termed their absence as "gross negligence" and "disrespect towards the people of Maharashtra who are represented in the legislature by elected representatives," and issued suspension orders against the officers.
The suspended officials are Member Secretary M. Devendra Singh, an IAS officer, and Joint Director Satish Padval.
According to sources, within less than a day of the order, the file recommending suspension was placed before the Chief Minister for approval.
When asked about the decision, Lande said, "It doesn't matter whether I was merely a protem Speaker. I was in the Chair, and action was taken for not respecting the Minister's orders and for not performing their duty."
Munde, while speaking in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday evening, was responding to a half-hour discussion on pollution in the Chandrapur district. She stated that the officers had failed to attend the briefings convened by her on the issue.
On Friday, BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar moved a breach of privilege motion against the MPCB for allegedly not adhering to the Minister's directions.
Siddhesh Kadam is the son of former Minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam and the brother of Minister of State Yogesh Kadam. Repeated attempts to contact him for comment remained unsuccessful.