Individual Aberration Today, Manisha’s Anguish Was Norm In Yesteryears!

Maharashtra’s Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Manisha Mhaiskar, cited an aberration from 2023—a Shiv Sena minister preferred a male colleague over her to head his department—reviving the debate over gender bias. While she termed it as an exception, discrimination across gender and caste was more entrenched under the Congress-led regime two decades ago. A stark example was Chitkala Zutshi, an upright officer who served as ACS Finance and Home but was overlooked for Chief Secretary’s post despite merit. The slight was compounded by an insensitive remark by a female colleague on her last day over her penchant for integrity over money, power during IAS service. And yet, Zutshi’s post-retirement career underscored her resilience: as member of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority and later Electricity tribunal judge in Nagpur, she delivered dispassionate quasi-judicial orders. These safeguarded the Nag river from being snuffed out and directed Maharashtra to clear 2.5 lakh agricultural pumpset backlog on pain of penalty of Rs 25,000 for each non-compliance case. Her tenure followed that of A K D Jadhav, another overlooked candidate for Chief Secretary, known for initiating near-free medical insurance for Mumbai’s 50,000-strong police force. Similarly, Praveensingh Pardeshi continues to contribute post-retirement as MITRA CEO despite missing the top CS post. CM Fadnavis’s tenure notably reflects a shift in pairing IAS couples in complementary roles—including Abha Shukla:Lokesh Chandra, Sujata: Manoj Saunik, even Manisha and Milind Maiskar. More serious concerns persist today. “Two decades back, 10% of the babudom were efficiently functional. This has slid to a mere 2% today,” an IAS officer says. Should that be left for another day?