Vikas Kharage | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | Vita, Maharashtra, India | 17 March 1968
Alma mater | College of Engineering, Pune University of Sussex |
Spouse | Meenakshi Kharage |
Children | (1) Vyankatesh Kharage married to Ms. Alria (2) Manish Kharage |
Vikas Shankar Kharage [1] (विकास शंकर खारगे) (born 17 March 1968) is an Indian Administrative Service officer currently posted as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra since 9 December 2019. He holds additional charge of Principal Secretary of the Department of Cultural Affairs.
Vikas Kharage was born in Vita, Maharashtra, a rural town of Deccan Peninsula in Sangli District of Maharashtra, on 17 March 1968. His father, a teacher by profession, and mother Rukmini reside in Malinagar where Vikas completed his primary education. Kharage pursued his B.E. in Electronics and Telecommunications at Government College of Engineering, Pune and later acquired an M.A. degree (Governance and Development) from IDS, University of Sussex, UK. After graduating, he started his career as a lecturer in DKTE Engineering College at Ichalkaranji since he had an ambition for higher education in the US. However, his urge to work for people and an inclination towards the administration compelled him to quit lectureship and start preparing for UPSC. He joined the State Institute for Administrative Career in Kolhapur and Mumbai for the guidance and studies of UPSC. Meanwhile, he appeared for MPSC exam. He was successful in attaining the District Inspector of Land Record (DILR) and was posted in Pune. However, he continued to study for UPSC examination even during his probationary period as DILR. In the second attempt of UPSC, he succeeded to get the 464th rank and was selected for Indian P&T Accounts and Finance, Group-A services. However, due to his only ambition for IAS he took one-year extension and started preparing again for the exam. He cracked the UPSC examination with All India 34th rank and 1st in Maharashtra which allotted him IAS with Maharashtra cadre. [2]
Kharage started his career as an Assistant Collector from Bramhapuri in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. [3] Till date, Kharage has undertaken many path breaking projects which have been tremendously successful. He has worked at various districts and departments in the state of Maharashtra and has shouldered varied responsibilities. His hard work and dedication to serve the people of India and insuring positive growth in the state is highly appreciated. He remains as an inspiration to many who wish to serve the state of Maharashtra.
After working as CEO at Chandrapur, he was posted as Collector at Yavatmal, a challenging district with 16 tehsils. He strived hard to promote adult education and increasing the literacy rates in the district. His work has been recognized and awarded at the hands of the then Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi.
Working as a Collector at Aurangabad, he handled many issues which focused on eradicating child labor. In his INDUS Child Labor project, [4] 4000 children were withdrawn from labor and mainstreamed in education. This got him great recognition in the country. When the Godavari river was flooded, he undertook the task of rescuing and rehabilitating the people there, with the help and involvement of other departments from the government and communities.
His work has ensured communal harmony in Aurangabad which was recognized and he was awarded with the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award, [5] for maintaining peace and communal harmony, through the hands of the then CM of Maharashtra, Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh.
Kharage was posted as Director, Groundwater Surveys and Development Agency in July 2007. He initiated a design study and commenced a Dual Hand Pump System for drinking water purpose. This pump had the unique ability to run on electricity and solar energy, with manual option available as a backup. He made special efforts for the awareness of groundwater resource, its development and judicial use. Through this scheme, rainwater harvesting becomes mandatory. Pumped water through a single-phase submersible pump is installed in the existing high yielding borewell and the water is stored in a 5,000-litre tank and water supply is provided to each house through a tap. He also contributed to mitigate the drinking water crisis in the Pune Municipal Corporation in 2008–09.
Due to Kharage's initiatives, state's first groundwater study was conducted in Ichalkaranji Municipal Council area. The council was given several remedial options to tackle some groundwater issues. The organization's work was nominated by the state for Prime Minister's Excellence Award in Organization category in 2009. In his dissertation at the University of Sussex, titled "Organisational Change: From Blue Print approach Organization to Community-Oriented Organisation, with a case study of Groundwater Surveys and Development Agency, Government of Maharashtra, India", he talks about how and why organization changes to adopt participatory approach.. The dissertation also probed the challenge of institutionalizing changes and make them sustainable in the long run.
Kharage has implemented, monitored and supervised various maternal and child health related programs while working as a Commissioner (Family Welfare) and Mission Director at National Rural Health Mission. He worked on improving health indicators such as IMR (reducing it from 34 to 25), MMR (from 104 to 67) & improving the sex ratio at birth (from 883 to 934). He also contributed in designing, developing and implementing '108 Health Ambulance service' in Maharashtra, where currently 972 BLS and ALS ambulances are in operation. He also commenced the paperless working of his office and gained the identity of first e-office in the state of Maharashtra. These efforts were also recognized when he was conferred the state level first prize of Rs. 10 Lakhs in Rajiv Gandhi Prashaskiya Gatimanta Abhiyan Award at the hands of the CM of Maharashtra in 2012. He also received an appreciation from the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for leading the rescue team of Maharashtra officials during the Uttarakhand cloud burst disaster in June 2013. Around 3000 Maharashtra pilgrims and tourists were rescued and sent back to state safely.
In his role as Secretary (Forests) for Government of Maharashtra, he launched multiple initiatives such as Mega Plantation Drive, [6] conservation activities in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, commencing Green Army, etc. The Mega Plantation Drive set the objective of planting 50 Crore trees in three years in the State of Maharashtra. To gather public support for plantation, a 'Green Army' of volunteers was established.
Bamboo sector was a restricted domain with lesser development and knowledge to the community. However, with Hon’ble Forest Minister Shri Sudhir Mungantiwar's eminent leadership and Kharage's initiatives, as a Secretary (Forests), Government of Maharashtra established state's first Bamboo Research and Training Centre at Chandrapur. Today, no permission is required for planting, cutting and transporting bamboo. This move has encouraged the bamboo plantation transforming it from a forest product to an agricultural product. Massive plantation, harvesting and transportation has been going on due to such liberalization policy. The area under bamboo cultivation in the state has remarkably increased to 4,462 km2 (1,723 sq mi). Initially, the use of bamboo was known only in making handicrafts. Subsequently, the use of bamboo in various sectors such as in industry, construction, textile and for making furniture was acknowledged. Also, the use of bamboo shoots as a food product was also recognized. The Forest Department also offers a 2-year diploma course to develop skilled expertise in bamboo plantation. Maharashtra is the only state in the country to start such academic course. Further, Maharashtra Bamboo Promotion Foundation in partnership with Tata Trust was established under the section (8) of the company's Act. It works on the principle of "Not for Profit", promotes and facilitate various activities such as organizing bamboo bazar, offering consultancy for construction of bamboo houses, industrial usage, furniture making etc. [7] To revitalize the bamboo sector, the Forest Department initiated the activation of Bamboo Handicraft and Art Unit (BHAU) in 3 universities of Maharashtra namely, Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Savitribai Phule Pune University and Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth at Rahuri. [8] The unit aims to impart training and skills to the students who can then work into the bamboo sector. [9]
Mega plantation drive was launched under the leadership of Honourable Forest Minister Shri Sudhir Mungantiwar, in 2015 to mitigate adverse effects of global warming and maintain ecological balance. Forest Department took the efforts of going an extra mile to plant 50 crore trees in 3 years during "Plantation Week" celebrated between 1 July and 7 July every year. The record making plantation of 2.82 crore on a single day of 1 July 2016 was achieved and has been acknowledged by the Limca Book of Record. [10] The Prime Minister himself mentioned the tree plantation efforts made by the Forest Department in his "Mann Ki Baat" program on 31 July and appreciated the campaign as a People's Movement.
Kharage insisted for the due attention for aftercare survival of plantation which is being monitored by the IT board which developed an application along with geotagging of the saplings making this activity open to the public domain. Transparency is maintained in the system.
The efforts of Maharashtra in various sectors are officially recognized by the Government of India. Following are the four areas where the state of Maharashtra is leading and also documented in the "Status Report on Forest for 2017" at All India level, published by "Forest Survey of India" in February, 2018:
According to the Indian Forest Survey Report 2019 released by the Central Government, the area of forest cover in Maharashtra's forest area has increased from 9,831 to 10,806 km2 (3,796 to 4,172 sq mi). This is an increase of 975 km2 (376 sq mi). Maharashtra ranks first in the forest cover in forestry. The forest cover of the state has also increased by 96 km2 (37 sq mi).
Increase in mangroves is mainly seen in Raigad, Mumbai suburbs, Thane, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. Maharashtra stands second in the country in mangrove cover.
In the Indian Forest Survey report from 2014 to 2019, a 147,814-hectare (365,260-acre) area has been announced as Reserved Forests in Maharashtra. Owing to this, Maharashtra has received great name and respect, in terms of environment balance and protection and this work has been mentioned in the IFSR. In a first of its kind, a 24-hour toll free helpline number 1926 called 'Hello Forest' has been set up to provide information regarding plantations, protection and mass awareness. The Forest Department has created a mobile application called 'My Plants' to record details of the plantations such as numbers, species and location into the Forest Department's database. To encourage public participation, the SFD has initiated the 'Maharashtra Harit Sena or Green Army'.
Earlier, the counting of the tiger or the chances of a tiger sighting could be guessed by their pugmarks. By using this method, their counting was inaccurate. Having had this in mind, National Tiger Conservation Institute of the Central Government along with the Wildlife Institute of India, formulated a new way for tiger census in 2006. According to the India Tiger Estimation – 2018, the count of tigers in Maharashtra sums up to 312 in total across all districts. The Tiger Census is done every 4 years.
Year | Count |
---|---|
2010 | 169 |
2014 | 190 |
2016 | 103 |
2018 | 312 |
Vikas Kharage, while handling the subject of Land Acquisition, developed the policy of 'Direct Purchase of Private Land [11] ’ through negotiation with the land owners. The process of direct purchase from land owners works in a simpler, faster and transparent way. The policy offers 25% extra compensation than the compensation received as per the Land Acquisition Act. This initiative has been found to be effective in acquiring the land in a short period.
The infrastructural projects in the State like construction of National Highways, Nagpur-Mumbai Prosperity Corridor, [12] Railway Projects etc. require acquisition of a private land. Kharage worked with District Collectors and monitored the land acquisition machinery in the field to acquire the requisite land on priority basis under various Acts. Such diligent working has facilitated the State Government to complete various infrastructural projects within the stipulated time period.
During the posting as Principal Secretary (Forests), Vikas Kharage headed a Committee (later popularly known as Kharage Committee) appointed to study the issues of Moha flowers and make recommendations to the Government on liberalisations of Moha flower trade. Accepting all the recommendations of Kharage Committee, the collection, storage, transportation and trade of Moha flowers is now liberalised removing various permissions required earlier. Excise department has issued a Government Resolution (GR) accordingly mentioning the acceptance of the Kharage Committee's recommendations. This decision will be mainly beneficial to the tribal community, who are engaged in the Moha flower collection, to raise their incomes.
There was no ‘state song’ for Maharashtra. Taking note of this and as Principal Secretary, Culture Affairs Department, Kharage took the initiative and made a presentation before the Cabinet. The cabinet approved the song “Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha, Garja Maharashtra Maza” as the ‘state song’ for Maharashtra. This initiative is first time in the history of the state of Maharashtra.
He has authored the book Panchayat Raj System: A New Role [13] published by Yashada, Pune.
2nd book released on own experiences: Vikas Kharage has recently released a book "Ek Harit Chalval" (Marathi Edition) at the hands of Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri. Uddhav Thackeray in January 2021. This book is published by Saket Publication, Aurangabad and depicts an extremely powerful story of the 50 crore tree plantation movement carried out in the state in 3 years period i.e. 2017, 2018 & 2019. Vikas Kharage is well known for his sensitivity over the environmental aspects. Enhancing tree cover is essential in today's era particularly when the issues such as pollution, deforestation, global warming and climate change have endangered our existence. The state's tree cover (forest cover on forest land + tree cover on non-forest land) is around 20% which is far less than required figure of 33%. Plantation of trees and its further maintenance is a herculean task and, thus, cannot be accomplished by the government alone. Considering such factors, Vikas Kharage in the role of Principal Secretary (Forests), led the plantation movement with people participation and involving various stakeholders. Many new schemes have been initiated for achieving the mission of plantation in the state. 21st century generation. It gives reader a fascinating experience and certainly it's a pleasure to accompany "Ek Harit Chalval" on its admiring journey. In the end one gets triggered for planting and nourishing trees which is the biggest hype around this book.
Maharashtra is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to the southeast and Chhattisgarh to the east, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to the north, and the Indian union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the northwest. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the third-most populous country subdivision globally.
The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai, and is one of the oldest high courts in India. The High Court has circuit benches at Nagpur and Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Panaji, the capital of Goa.
Yavatmal district, [jəʋət̪maːɭ] formerly known as Yeotmal, is a district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the region of Vidarbha, in the east-central part of the state. It is Vidarbha's third-largest district by population, after Nagpur and Amravati. Yavatmal city is the administrative headquarters of the district.
Chandrapur district is a district in the Nagpur Division in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Chandrapur was the largest district in India until the Gadchiroli and Sironcha tehsils were separated as Gadchiroli district in 1981. In 2011, the district population was 2,204,307.
The City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) is an Indian city planning agency and richest government authority in India which is formed and controlled by the Government of Maharashtra. CIDCO was formed on 17 March 1970 under the Indian Companies Act of 1956; its purpose at the time of its creation was to develop a satellite town to Mumbai, Maharashtra, and now functioning as New Town Development Authority (NTDA) and Special Planning Authority (SPA) of Government of Maharashtra for development of new towns by planning and developing entire urban infrastructure, providing municipal services, executing large scale infrastructure projects including Navi Mumbai International Airport and the Navi Mumbai Metro. CIDCO also launched India's first smart city project. CIDCO has ownership of all plots in new cities, underutilised funds about Rs 40,000 crore and reserved Land Bank; which makes CIDCO richest Government Authority.
Chandrapur is a city and a municipal corporation in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra state, India. It is the district headquarters of Chandrapur district. Chandrapur is a fort city founded by Khandkya Ballal Sah, a Gond king of the 13th century. The city sits at the confluence of the Erai river and Zarpat river. The area around the city is rich in coal seams.. Hence, Chandrapur is also known as the "Black Gold City".
Biofuel development in India centres mainly around the cultivation and processing of Jatropha plant seeds, which are very rich in oil, ranging from 27 to 40%, and averaging 34.4%. The drivers for this are historic, functional, economic, environmental, moral and political.
Pandharkawda is a City and a Municipal council in Yavatmal district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The Pandharkawada municipality won "Best Municipality at Amravati Division" in 2006 and a quality of education award in 2011. It is near the Saikheda Dam, an earthfill dam on the Khuni River..
The economy of the state of Maharashtra is the largest in India.
The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is a wildlife sanctuary in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra state in India. It is Maharashtra's oldest and largest national park. Created in 1955, the reserve includes the Tadoba National Park and the Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary. The reserve consists of 577.96 square kilometres (223.15 sq mi) of reserved forest and 32.51 square kilometres (12.55 sq mi) of protected forest.
The Maharashtra Legislative Council or Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra state in western India.
Latur railway station is a railway station in Central Railway zone which serves the city of Latur, Maharashtra. It is the start of the Latur–Miraj section of the Solapur (SUR) Division of Central Railway (CR). Latur is well connected to Latur Road Junction, Parli Vaijnath, Purna, Hingoli, Washim, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Nagpur, Nanded, Nizamabad, Osmanabad, Pune, Lonavla, Karjat, Panvel, Thane, Kalyan, Mumbai, Pandharpur, Miraj, Kolhapur, Udgir, Bidar, Vikarabad, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Yeshwantpur, Bangalore.
S. M. Raju is a civil servant working for Bihar Government.
Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger reserve located along the area straddling both the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats in the Erode District of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Sathyamangalam Forest Division is part of the Bramhagiri-Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats Elephant Reserve notified in 2003. In 2008, part of the Sathyamangalam Forest Division was declared as a wildlife sanctuary and enlarged in 2011, it covers a forest area of 1,411.6 km2 (545.0 sq mi). It is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. In 2013, an area of 1,408.6 km2 (543.9 sq mi) of the erstwhile sanctuary was notified as a tiger reserve. It was the fourth tiger reserve established in Tamil Nadu as a part of Project Tiger and is the third largest in the state.
Bor Tiger Reserve is a wildlife sanctuary which was declared as a tiger reserve in July 2014. It is located near Hingani in Wardha District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a home to a variety of wild animals. The reserve covers an area of 138.12 km2 (53.33 sq mi). which includes the drainage basin of the Bor Dam.
Sudhir Sachchidanand Mungantiwar is a legislator from the state of Maharashtra, India. He is currently cabinet Minister for Forests, Cultural Affairs and Fisheries in Maharashtra Government. He has earlier served as the Cabinet Minister of Finance & Planning and Forests departments in the Government of Maharashtra, Previously, he was the Maharashtra State President for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2010 to 2013 and the Minister of Tourism and Consumer Protection in the Government of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999. In 2014, he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly to serve for a fifth consecutive term. He also holds additional charge as the Guardian Minister of Chandrapur and Wardha districts.
JP Dange was the Chief Secretary Government of Maharashtra and Civil service IAS officer in Maharashtra. He Graduated from Nagpur University with Bachelors in Law (L.L.B) and Commerce (B.Com) and Post-graduated from Pune University with Masters in Business Administration (M.B.A). He further did M.Sc in Development Administration from Bath University under the Colombo Plan. He was 'AIR' - 38 at Combined Defense Services Examination 1972 in first attempt and appointed as Commissioned Officer in IAF at Defense Services Staff College, Wellington by the President of India. He was 'AIR' - 23 at the Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Examination 1973 in first attempt and got selected in the Indian Administrative Service (I.A.S) aged 21. He was appointed by the Union and State Government as the youngest 'Home Secretary' aged 37 Years after the serial Bombay Bomb Blasts, 1993. He was tasked as Competent Authority in capacity of Hon'ble Chief Secretary in management of Ajmal Kasab Hanging - Operation X in 2011-12. In recognition of his long and illustrious Administrative Service of 46 Years, he was given 'Best Governance Award' by Government of India, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in 2020.
Ghodazari Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife reserve established in 2018 in Nagbhir in the Chandrapur district of the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, India. It includes 159 km2 (61 sq mi) of southern tropical dry forest and a lake. The forest is considered a key region on the connecting corridor for the tiger migration between the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Project and Umred Karhandala Wildlife Sanctuary. It is named after a village of the same name that is almost in the middle of the forest, about 2 km from the dam and the resort. In Marathi, ghoda means horse and zari means a place with a water spring.
The Maharashtra Forest Department is a department of the Indian state of Maharashtra responsible for forestry and wildlife management.