In a first, Maharashtra government has appointed senior IAS officers – V. Radha, B. Venugopal Reddy, Saurabh Vijay, Richa Bagla and Appasaheb Dhulaj – to monitor the timely and efficient implementation of development plans for five prominent Jyotirlinga sites.
General Administration Department Additional Chief Secretary V. Radha will be the nodal officer for Bhimashankar in Pune district and B. Venugopal Reddy, ACS, Higher and Technical Education Department for Shri Kshetra Grishneshwar (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district).
Shri Kshetra Trimbakeshwar (Nashik district) will be looked after by Saurabh Vijay, Principal Secretary, Finance Department.
Shri Kshetra Aundha Nagnath (Hingoli district) and Parli Vaijnath (Beed district) will be under the charge of Finance Department's principal secretary Richa Bagla and OBC Welfare Department secretary Appasaheb Dhulaj, respectively.
These officers are expected to conduct regular reviews of project progress and submit reports directly to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a CMO statement said on Wednesday.
The development plans have already been approved in high-level committee meetings, and government resolutions (GRs) have been issued.
These religious and cultural sites, spread across different districts, are poised for infrastructural and pilgrimage-focused upgrades with significant financial allocations, it stated.
The sanctioned projects and financial outlays include Rs 148.37 crore for 11 approved works in Bhimashankar, Rs 156.63 crore for Grishneshwar, Rs 275 crore for Trimbakeshwar, Rs 15.21 crore for Parli Vaijnath, and Rs 286.68 crore covering 92 works for Aundha Nagnath, respectively.
These projects aim to enhance pilgrimage infrastructure, amenities, and connectivity at the Jyotirlinga sites.
For the first time, senior officers have been appointed at the Mantralaya level specifically for inter-departmental coordination and monitoring of these religious development plans, the statement said.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
