Mumbai: An epistolary war has broken out between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s camp over the appointment of an officer in the public works department (PWD) in Thane. The BJP is keen on appointing a Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) engineer of their choice in the post while the Shinde camp is vying to retain incumbent engineer Vilas Kamble.
The battle of letters began on August 10 when Kapil Patil, Union minister and BJP MP from Bhiwandi, wrote to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, requesting him to appoint Devendra Pawar, currently with MSRDC, in place of Kamble. Fadnavis forwarded the letter to the additional chief secretary of PWD for ‘further action’. A fortnight later, Shantaram More and Balaji Kinikar, two MLAs from the Shinde camp, wrote to the chief minister, asking him to retain Thane division’s superintendent engineer Vilas Kamble in the post as he had been “working in the interest of citizens”.
The letter war is being seen as yet another round of the simmering rift between the two ruling partners in Thane. PWD minister and BJP leader Ravindra Chavan had recently expressed his dismay over the functioning of the urban development department headed by the CM, pointing out that the fund of ₹472 crore allocated for roads by Fadnavis during his stint as CM had not been released yet. Chavan’s criticism is believed to have led to the counter-attack from the Shinde camp.
Interestingly, BJP MLA Kisan Kathore has also written a recommendation letter for Kamble, allegedly defying the party line and favoring Kamble in the rift between him and Union minister Patil over the development work. When questioned, however, Kathore said he was unaware of the letters submitted by other MLAs and the Union minister. “I wrote a letter because Kamble has served just two years in office. He has done good work in Thane and he is needed for the district,” he said.
Kamble is a relative of a former PWD secretary who has now been appointed in a higher post in MSRDC, while Devendra Pawar is a relative of Nashik’s former mayor and BJP leader Ranjana Bhansi. “The incumbent officer is very close to the Shinde camp whereas the one who is vying for the post is close to the other ruling partner,” said an official from PWD, who said that the post in contention was important for two reasons. “The Thane division of PWD is extremely lucrative, even more than Mumbai, because of the inflow of funds from various other departments, including the tribal department and the National Highway Authority of India. The district is also important because it is the home ground of the chief minister,” he pointed out.
By appointing officers close to them, both camps expect the road projects to be implemented according to their wish ahead of the upcoming civic polls in Thane and Kalyan-Dombivali. Interestingly, the letters written by the two MLAs of the Shinde camp are the same word for word. Only the signatures of the legislators are different.
Balaji Kinikar, MLA affiliated to the Shinde camp, said, “This is not about a rift between two ruling partners. Kamble asked for a letter of recommendation, and I gave it to him. Had Pawar asked, I would have given him one too. Ultimately PWD minister Chavan saheb is my senior and the call has to be taken by him.”
