NCCD CEO Pawanexh Kohli to demit office a few days before term ends

One of the few remaining officers taken from the private sector by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Pawanexh Kohli  (pictured) resigned as chief executive officer of the National Central for Cold-chain Development (NCCD) a few days before his term ends.
 
Kohli, who was appointed during the UPA government, put in his papers on December 9, 2019, while his term ends on Friday.  Kohli, who joined NCCD in 2012 as its first CEO and chief advisor from outside the government, was allegedly unhappy over the functioning of the body in the last few years and the way its affairs were being handled.

 
Before joining NCCD, Kohli held top positions in leading logistics companies such as Gati, Arshiya International and others. NCCD, formed in 2012 as an autonomous organisation of the government on the public-private participation model, was meant to serve as a senior think tank in respect of interministerial policy interventions to rationalise cold chain development in the country — encompassing fresh, frozen and pharma cold supply chains.
 

The governing council of NCCD and its executive council comprises senior representatives from the government and the private sector. The agriculture secretary is its ex-officio president. The NCCD does not give any subsidy for setting up cold-chain but acts as a project developer, think tank and hand-holding body for developing a network of cold chains in the country. Though it was set up with a government grant, officials said it is not dependent on the Centre for running its operations and instead manages its resources from contributions made by its members.

Sources said Kohli in a letter addressed to the executive committee on January 24 had detailed his displeasure over the manner in which things related to NCCD was being handled by the government, including attempts to undermine his authority.
 
“The recent protracted inaction and misdirection makes the working conditions professionally untenable and most functions are depleted. This does not bode well for the organisation or encourage credible engagement of senior professionals,” Kohli said in his letter.