Goa govt shuffles bureaucrats, appoints new director of mining

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In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, the Goa government on Wednesday appointed a new officer to take charge of the crucial Directorate of Mines and Geology.

As per the order issued by the Department of Personnel, Arvind Budge has been transferred asthe director of mines and geology, shunting out Ashutosh Apte who was holding the post.

The transfer is significant, as the Supreme Court had recently allowed mining firms to sell royalty paid ore.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant had said the department was getting ready to facilitate sale of the ore, which will be the first step towards resumption of mining activity in the state that had come to a standstill since the last two years.

Apte will now take over as the inspector general of prisons with an additional charge as the managing director of Goa State SC and OBC Finance Commission.

Earlier last year, Apte was brought in as a replacement for Prasanna Acharya, who was indicted by the Lokayukta last month for his involvement in the illegal renewal of mining leases.

Meanwhile, the order also stated that commissioner of commercial taxes Deepak Bandekar will take charge as the director of industries of the Trade and Commerce Department.

Derrick P Neto has been transferred as managing director of Goa Industrial Development Corporation, with an additional charge as the managing director of Goa Human Resource Development Corporation.

While Vinesh Arlekar has been given charge as the director of Settlement and Land Records, S V Naik is now the managing director of Goa Education Development Corporation.

Neetal Amonkar has been transferred as the secretary of Goa Human Rights Commission.