Praveen Pardeshi, a former municipal commissioner of the city who was pushed out during the peak of the pandemic in May 2020, is set to return as the head of the state’s policy think tank. Mr. Pardeshi, who is currently a member of the National Capacity Building Commission, is expected to be named CEO of the state’s Niti Aayog-style think tank centre, Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA).
The officer has previously handled the chief minister’s office during the tenure of Vilasrao Deshmukh and Devendra Fadnavis. He was widely appreciated for handling relief and rehabilitation during the 1993 Latur earthquake. As municipal commissioner during the Covid outbreak in one of the worst affected cities in the country, he helmed the civic body’s efforts to set up Covid treatment infrastructure facilities in Mumbai. He was transferred abruptly following differences with his seniors. Instead of taking up his posting as additional chief secretary (urban development), Pardeshi chose a deputation to the United Nations.
After losing the chance to become the chief secretary in February 2021, he took voluntary retirement from the service to join the Central government’s National Capacity Building Commission as a member (administration).
