Maharashtra Appoints Women Leaders To Top Posts In Administration, Police, & Forest Departments

Mumbai: Living up to its reputation as a progressive state, Maharashtra has women heading three key posts: the state administration, police, and the principal chief forest conservator.

About The Appointments

The state has made history with the appointments of three All India Services women in these top posts. In January, Maharashtra got its first women police chief with the appointment of 1988 IPS Rashmi Shukla as director general; 1987 IAS Sujata Saunik took over the reins of the state administration last month to be the first woman chief secretary.

Last Wednesday 1988 Indian Forest Service officer Somita Biswas took over as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) from Shailesh Tembhurnikar. Biswas, who was CEO of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority, become the first women chief of the forest department.

“She follows the footsteps of other women in civil services to break the glass ceiling and make it to the top. The state government is empowering women in the true sense,” a veteran bureaucrat said.

About IPS Rashmi Shukla

Shukla, who was made police chief with four months left for retirement, will continue in the post for two years. She was earlier the Pune police commissioner and the state intelligence department commissioner named in the phone tapping controversy. Shukla moved to central deputation during the MVA regime and headed the Sashastra Seema Bala. Saunik, with a career spanning 37 years, was the additional chief secretary of the Home Department, General Administration Department, Skill Development Department, National Disaster Management Authority, and several important civil administration offices.