G Sreekanth takes charge as divisional commissioner in Sambhajinagar, his second transfer in 15 days

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Senior IAS officer G Sreekanth on Friday took charge as the revenue divisional commissioner here, marking his second transfer within a span of just 15 days amid a wider administrative reshuffle in Maharashtra.Sreekanth assumed charge from outgoing divisional commissioner Jitendra Papalkar, who has now been appointed as joint commissioner of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Mumbai. Papalkar is a 2010-batch IAS officer.Notably, Sreekanth had been posted as mission director of the Jal Jeevan Mission in Navi Mumbai on April 3. However, within a fortnight, he has been reassigned to head the Sambhajinagar division, underscoring the fast-paced administrative changes.Following his transfer, Gangatharan D, a 2013-batch IAS officer, has been appointed as the new mission director of the Jal Jeevan Mission in Navi Mumbai in place of Sreekanth.The reshuffle also includes the transfer of Jagdish Miniyar, currently serving as chief administrator (new township) at Cidco in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Miniyar, a 2015-batch IAS officer, has been appointed as commissioner of women and child development (WCD) in Pune.Sreekanth's return to the region comes after strong backing from state ministers, including energy minister Atul Save and guardian minister Sanjay Shirsat, who had urged the chief minister to retain him in the region. They had argued that his transfer could hamper the progress of key drinking water projects.An experienced administrator, Sreekanth has served as Latur district collector and later as joint commissioner of GST in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. He also held the post of municipal commissioner of the city before his recent transfers and has been working in the Marathwada region for the past five years.His tenure has also seen political friction, with BJP MLA Prashant Bamb earlier raising complaints against him in the state legislature.With Sreekanth now heading the division, he is expected to steer administrative functioning and push key infrastructure and water supply projects across the region.