The Gujarat government transferred 23 IAS officers on Wednesday, naming M Thennarsan, vice-chairman and managing director of the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), as the new Ahmedabad municipal commissioner, and Ahmedabad district collector Sandip Sagale as the new municipal commissioner of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation.
RA Merja, the deputy municipal commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the brother of Brijesh Merja, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Rural Housing, and Rural Development, was among those who were transferred.
RA Merja, who has been appointed as the district collector of Bhavnagar, is one of nine new district collectors appointed by the state government’s General Administration Department.
Merja, was promoted to the IAS cadre from the State Civil Service in October 2020. The promotion happened after his brother Brijesh left the Congress before the Rajya Sabha polls and joined the BJP in June 2020.
The district collectors of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Anand, Dang, Tapi, Kutch, Mahisagar and Morbi are among those transferred. M Thennarsan, the vice-chairman and managing director of the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), has been appointed as the new AMC municipal commissioner, while Ahmedabad district collector Sandip Sagale will become the new municipal commissioner of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation.
Dhavalkumar Patel, who headed the municipal corporation in Gandhinagar will replace Sagale as Ahmedabad district collector, while industries commissioner Rahul Gupta will hold the additional charge of GIDC.
The collectors of tribal districts who got transferred include BK Pandya who has been transferred to Mahisagar from Dangs. Similarly, BR Dave, managing director of the Gujarat Livelihood Promotion Company Ltd has been appointed as the new district collector of Tapi.
DK Praveena, the district collector of Kutch, has been appointed as the new collector of Gandhinagar. The new Kutch collector will be Dilip Rana, the director of tribal development. Similarly, Surat District Development Officer DS Gadhvi has been appointed as Anand District Collector, while GT Pandya, Director of Technical Education, has been appointed as Morbi District Collector.
Yogesh Chaudhary, a Bharuch District Development Officer, has been appointed as the managing director of the state electricity distribution company, Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd. (DGVCL). Jasmine Hasrat, who previously held this position at DGVCL, has been appointed as the new MD of Gujarat State Energy Generation Ltd, Surat.