Mumbai: Senior IAS officer Sonia Sethi was on Friday appointed BEST’s full-time general manager (GM), making her the first woman in this role. The post fell vacant nine months ago and was since held as additional charge by senior officials, including briefly by additional municipal commissioner Ashwini Joshi.The announcement, however, raised eyebrows because Sethi, who was the additional chief secretary (ACS), disaster management, relief and rehabilitation, was moved out in the middle of flood relief work. A senior bureaucrat pointed out that the relief and rehabilitation department is key to tackling the havoc wreaked by recent heavy rain that has also left hundreds of farmers across Marathwada in dire straits, adding that the BEST GM’s post isn’t considered plum for an ACS-rank official. Congress functionary Sachin Sawant, too, questioned the timing of the transfer. “…Will changing the leadership in the department not create an atmosphere of chaos? Will it not take time for the new officer to understand the department’s operations?” he said in a post. Sethi’s appointment comes at a crucial juncture—BEST’s functioning is marred by an acute bus shortage, poor frequency and long queues at stops, and it needs better charging infrastructure for the ambitious bus electrification plan. The 1994 batch officer is expected to slip into her new role with ease. She had served as the state transport commissioner 10 years ago, and had then framed the city’s taxi policy, developed a road safety policy and execution plan, and facilitated the entry of women in the male-dominated space of transport drivers. She has also served as additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA; additional director general of foreign trade, ministry of commerce; and worked in senior positions at MSRDC and Cidco. Her husband, Sanjay Sethi, is state ACS (transport). BEST GM’s post fell vacant after IAS officer Anil Diggikar was shunted out in Dec 2024 following the Kurla bus crash that caused nine deaths. Govt named Harshdeep Kamble, principal secretary, industries, as his replacement, but he was shown transferred to the social justice department in a few days. Thereafter, senior IAS officials held additional charge as the GM—additional municipal commissioner Ashwini Joshi for a few weeks and Dharavi Redevelopment Project CEO SVR Srinivas from Feb till his retirement in July. Lack of coordination between departments led to two officials being given additional charge of the post in Aug. The issue was sorted out and GST commissioner Ashish Sharma was given the charge.
