The Maharashtra government has appointed Dr Mahendra Kalyankar as the new CEO of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), Mumbai, replacing Satish Lokhande. Dr Kalyankar was Konkan Divisional Commissioner. He is a 2007 batch IAS officer.
The hands-on-bureaucrat has been appointed to the SRA to clean up the alleged mess in the housing of slum dwellers and jumpstart over a dozen projects that have been stalled for over 15 years across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Dr. Kalyankar's Tenure And Challenges Ahead
“The state has over 500 slum rehab projects left in limbo by private developers and not even paid rents for several years to lakhs of dwellers evicted in dubious redevelopment schemes,” confirmed a senior bureaucrat in the state housing ministry.
Dr Kalyankar has held several crucial posts, including collector of Thane, Raigad, Chandrapur and Akola districts. He received the ‘best collector’ award twice for his administrative skills for implementing government schemes, especially the ‘Green Akola’ and encroachment removal campaigns as the commissioner of Akola Municipal Corporation.
Efficient Administrator Promoted To Head Slum Rehabilitation Authority
He was posted as Konkan Divisional Commissioner in January 2023 after a successful stint as Raigad collector during the Covid pandemic lockdown in the Maha Vikas Aghadi regime.
He was also the state labour commissioner and credited for bringing reforms in the unorganised labour sector in Mumbai. “His excellent work in administration had impressed successive chief ministers and revenue ministers in the state. His appointment as head of the SRA will ensure all stalled projects pick up pace and slum dwellers get their rightful homes promised by developers,” said a senior bureaucrat, heaping praise on the young administrator.
