Mumbai, Feb 11 (IANS): The state Cabinet on Tuesday chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday approved amendments to the Maharashtra Disaster Management Authority Rules, 2019 to include Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who holds the Urban Development Minister, as ex officio member.

The state government had recently reconstituted the Authority chaired by the Chief Minister and included Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. However, Eknath Shinde was not figured in the reconstituted Authority. Shinde expressed serious displeasure for not getting a place in the reconstituted Authority that led to the state Cabinet giving its nod for the amendments to the rules.

A senior MahaYuti minister said: “The proposed amendments will pave the way for the inclusion of Eknath Shinde as the ex officio member of the Authority.”

The disaster management authority, formed after the devastating Mumbai floods in 2005, plays a crucial role in coordinating emergency responses under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister.

As per the amendments, the Chief Minister as the chairman of the Authority will nominate ministers and non-official members. According to the government release, the composition of the Maharashtra Disaster Management Authority has been fixed as per Rule 3 of the Maharashtra Disaster Management Rules, 2019. The cabinet approved to revise its composition.

As per the amendments, the Maharashtra Disaster Management Authority will have a Chairperson and nine members. The Chief Minister will be the ex-officio Chairperson while the Deputy Chief Minister will be the ex-officio member. The Chief Minister will nominate other ministers persons with expertise and experience in disaster risk reduction as non-official members.

The Chairperson of the State Executive Committee, the ex-officio member and the Chief Executive Officer will also be included in the Authority.

Earlier, the Authority consisted of Chief Minister as ex-officio Chairman while Minister (Revenue), Minister (Finance), Minister (Home), Minister (Relief and Rehabilitation) and Minister (Public Health) were all ex-officio members. In addition, three non-official members with knowledge and experience in disaster risk reduction were nominated by the Chairman while the Chairman of the State Executive Committee were ex-officio members and Chief Executive Officers of this Authority.