Mumbai: In a departure from convention, the Maharashtra government has appointed an IAS officer as chairman of the state-run bus service MSRTC instead of a public representative.
Transport Secretary Sanjay Sethi, an additional chief secretary-rank officer, was named as the new chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation in a gazette notification on Wednesday.
About The Decision
The decision could stir a controversy as in the last one decade, the transport minister or some other public representative has held this post. The previous chairman was Bharat Gogawale, a legislator of the Shiv Sena led by deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Notably, as transport secretary, Sethi is also an ex-officio member of the corporation, and a former transport department official termed his new responsibility as a case of conflict of interest.
The MSRTC operates a fleet of around 14,000 buses, catering to some 55 lakh passengers daily, and has a workforce of about 90,000.
"It is a clear case of conflict of interest. You cannot send a proposal by the right hand and approve it by the left hand," a retired transport department official said while requesting anonymity.
He also pointed out that the corporation would not have any public representation.
The post of chairman was vacant as Gogawale resigned after his inclusion in the new Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government.
A government official said that Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, also from the Shiv Sena, had written to Chief Minister Fadnavis recently, requesting immediate appointment of a new chairman.
The MSRTC, one of India's largest public transport undertaking, has been struggling with mounting losses, an aging fleet, employee strikes, and declining ridership in recent years. To mitigate daily financial losses, the corporation enforced a 14.95% fare hike last month.
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