In an important development, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has directed the state government to revoke the suspension of IAS officer M. Devender Singh (IAS:2011:MH). The officer had been placed under suspension ten days ago by the presiding officer of the state Assembly following his alleged failure to brief Environment Minister Pankaja Munde.
The development is said to have been preceded by high-level discussions in the Legislative Assembly involving senior ministers and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The controversy started during the first week of the Budget Session after a heated debate broke out in the Assembly over the sharp rise in pollution levels in Chandrapur district in the Vidarbha region. Environment Minister Pankaja Munde told the House that senior officials of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) did not brief her on the issue during the Assembly proceedings.
Following this, presiding officer Dilip Mama Lande ordered the suspension of MPCB’s Member Secretary M. Devender Singh.
The General Administration Department (GAD) of the state govt issued the suspension order within 24 hours, on February 27.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil later informed the House that the concerned officers, Singh and MPCB joint director Satish Padwal, had presented the facts before the Assembly Speaker with regrets over the incident and an assurance that such an incident would not recur in the future.
The officers also submitted a written explanation to the Speaker and the House detailing the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Narwekar later said, “As the concerned officer has expressed regret over the lapse, the state government is directed to revoke the suspension of the concerned officer.”
CM Devendra Fadnavis said that since the Speaker had withdrawn the earlier order, the government would take the necessary steps to revoke the suspension.
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