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Praveen Gedam

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Praveen Gedam
Praveen Gedam in 2020
Divisional Commissioner of Nashik[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office
31 May 2024
Agriculture Commissioner, Maharashtra[2]
In office
October 2023 – 31 May 2024
Additional Deputy CEO, National Health Authority[3]
Incumbent
Assumed office
2019
Transport Commissioner, Maharashtra[4]
In office
30 July 2016 – November 2017
Municipal Commissioner, Nashik[1]
In office
4 November 2014 – 2016
District Collector, Solapur[5]
In office
January 2013 – ?
Municipal Commissioner, Jalgaon[6]
In office
c. 2012 – January 2013
District Collector, Osmanabad[7]
In office
2009–2012
CEO of the Zila Parishad in Latur[8]
In office
2006-2009
Personal details
Education

Praveen Gedam (Marathi: प्रवीण गेडाम) is an Indian civil servant who has been serving as Divisional Commissioner of Nashik since 31 May 2024.[1][9][10] An Indian Administrative Service officer of the 2002 Maharashtra cadre,[6][5][8] he has held a number of governmental roles, including as Additional Deputy CEO of the National Health Authority;[10] Agriculture Commissioner, Maharashtra;[2] Transport Commissioner, Maharashtra;[11] Municipal Commissioner in Nashik and Jalgaon;[1][12] and District Collector in Solapur and Osmanabad.[6][5][7]

Gedam is known for his focus on social programs and anti-corruption, which he has tackled using improvements to technology and digitalisation.[1][13][9] Among his larger initiatives are the Sand Mining Approval and Tracking (SMAT) system to fight illegal sand mining;[14][15] the Solar Dual Pump Water Supply Scheme to improve tap water access across the country;[16] and the introduction of the National Digital Health Mission identification numbers.[17] He also oversaw preparations of the 2015 Kumbh Mela in Nashik, using technology to improve transportation, lodging, public health, and infrastructure.[1][18] In 2006, he filed the initial complaint that led to the exposure of the Jalgaon housing scam.[19][10][20]

Education

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A National Talent Search Scholar,[8] Gedam completed an MBBS from Government Medical College in Nagpur,[9][21][10] with a focus in orthopaedics.[22] In 2023, as a Fulbright Scholar, he graduated with a Master of Public Health from Harvard University.[9][10]

Career

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Gedam joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 2002 (Maharashtra cadre) and has since held several positions within the Government of Maharashtra and the Government of India.[6] While working as an IAS officer, he led an inquiry into the misappropriation of funds under former housing minister Suresh Jain in what would become known as the Jalgaon housing scam.[19][23][20][10] The funds had been earmarked in 1996 to provide more than 11,000 units of housing for poor Indians, particularly in rural areas. Over the course of 10 years, approximately ₹110 crore in public funds had been diverted into private accounts connected to Jain.[19][24][6] In 2019, 48 people, including ministers, mayors, council presidents, and builders, were convicted.[20][2][19] At that time, it was considered the largest known scam in the history of North Maharashtra.[25]

Between 2006 and 2009, Gedam worked as a CEO of the Zila Parishad in Latur. Maternal and Child Health indicators improved under him, including more than doubling successful deliveries in hospitals (43% to 93%). He then worked with UNICEF to ensure that medical initiatives such as community mobilisation and systematic medical check-ups continued after his term ended.[7][8][6] Following his time in Latur, he was District Collector in Osmanabad, where he also served as chairman of the Tuljabhavani temple at Tuljapur.[26][7][6] He worked with the temple to obtain an ISO certificate, during which he uncovered that donations were being misappropriated, in part due to temple officials auctioning off donation boxes. Though he led an initial investigation and issued a ban on auctioning the boxes, his term ended before the case was resolved. No criminal charges have been brought against the temple or its officials as of September 2024.[27][18][26] While Collector, he also improved local gardens and roads; oversaw the building of a modern darshan mandapa and three bhakti niwas, lodgings for followers of Jainism;[28][18] and attempted to convince the government to buy Shri Tulja Bhavani College of Engineering in Tuljapur to prevent its closure.[29] Gedam later served as Municipal Commissioner of the Jalgaon Municipal Corporation for a short period of time.[6][7]

In January 2013, he was appointed District Collector in Solapur,[6][5][30] where he developed the Sand Mining Approval Tracking (SMAT) system, an online reporting and monitoring system to fight illegal sand mining in Maharashtra.[31][32][15] The initiative included checkpoint huts along access roads to sand ghats and the installation of CCTV cameras. Introducing e-auctioning, higher fines, and increased monitoring eventually garnered a Rs56 crore increase in state income. In the 2013-2014 fiscal year, around 420 first information reports were filed against cartels of sand mafias.[18][31] Additionally, reducing illegal sand displacement also helped prevent sand erosion.[2] Since its implementation, the system has been adopted across India as part of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's National Sustainable Sand Mining Guidelines.[15][33][34]

Around this time, Gedam served as Director of the Groundwater Surveys and Development Agency (GSDA), where he implemented the Solar Dual Pump Water Supply Scheme. This helped provide tap water year-round via a solar energy-based submersible pump installed in existing borewells. The borewells are supplemented by rooftop rainwater harvesting and the solar energy system is supported by the photovoltaic effect, meaning it does not require the sun to power it. Around 10,000 villages across 82 Naxal-affected districts in seven Indian states benefitted from this initiative.[16][35]

On 4 November 2014, he became the Municipal Commissioner of Nashik.[6][1][12] A major part of his time there was focused on making improvements and taking preventative health measures to prepare for the 2015 Kumbh Mela.[1][8][18] He oversaw a third-party roadwork audit that resulted in improved routes during the pilgrimage.[1] The government also built a 26 kilometres (16 mi) underground draining system and a 40 kilometres (25 mi) water supply line to the temporary pilgrimage town of Sadhugram, and added five additional ghats to the area, more than doubling the existing number, to accommodate the influx of visitors.[18] Drones were utilised to control and manage crowds; a mobile app was used to give information on local points of interest, including hospitals and hotels; and cloud computing was employed to monitor the threat of any illnesses breaking out. In total, Nashik budgeted about Rs2,200 crore to manage the two month-long event.[18] Additionally, he oversaw the launch of a municipal app that allowed residents to file complaints or suggestions, pay bills, register births or deaths, seek building plan approval, and view extensive details, including before and after photos, about any construction or other project undertaken in the city. One of his main goals for this was increased transparency.[18][31] He also exposed irregularities within the local builder lobby.[2] When his tenure ended in 2016, some of his constituents reportedly protested for him to stay in office longer.[12][1]

He then spent a year as Transport Commissioner in the Government of Maharashtra.[11][36] One of his major initiatives in this role was a mass computerisation effort of the Ministry of Transport's offices, which produced a database of more than 27 million vehicles and 30 million licensed drivers in the state.[8] He also brought transportation firms such as Uber and Ola under increased government supervision to maintain safety standards and to prevent sudden price spikes.[37] In 2017, he was appointed Private Secretary to the Minister of Railways in the Government of India.[4][8][10]

Gedam joined the National Health Authority in 2019 as Additional Deputy CEO.[3][38] He became the first director of the National Digital Health Mission (ABDM) and oversaw the initiatives for digital health management.[13][9][10] This included the introduction of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABHA) numbers, a digital ID that links healthcare records across systems.[17] As of November 2024, more than 68 billion ABDM numbers have been created.[39] In addition to the ABDM, he also worked to scale up the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) health insurance scheme to improve the number of Indians covered.[40][22] During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gedam worked to ensure healthcare was accessible to as many rural and impoverished communities as possible.[22][10] In August 2022, his term as Additional CEO was extended to 27 November 2024.[41][42]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pawar, Tushar (1 June 2024). "Gedam is new Nashik divisional commissioner". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "New Agriculture Commissioner Appointed, IAS Praveen Gedam takes charge". Agri Trade Media. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Praveen N Gedam IAS appointed Dy CEO- National Health Authority". IndianBureaucracy.com. 26 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b Somit Sen (14 November 2017). "Maharashtra transport commissioner appointed as PS to railway minister". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "Mira Bhayander gets new civic commissioner". The Times of India. TNN. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Praveen Gedam is new civic body chief". The Times of India. TNN. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Maharashtra Govt transfers 11 IAS officers, Latur gets new Collector". oneindia.com. 10 May 2006. Retrieved 9 May 2022.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Dr. Praveen Gedam". UNWired. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Webinar: Major reform efforts for India's health system: opportunities and challenges". Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ismail, Ashfaque (31 May 2024). "IAS Dr Praveen Gedam who dug out Jalgaon Housing Scam takes charge of Nashik Divisional Commissioner". The Voice of Malegaon. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Praveen Gedam new transport commissioner". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 30 July 2016.
  12. ^ a b c Joshi, Suyog (31 May 2024). नाशिकच्या विभागीय आयुक्तपदी डॉ. प्रवीण गेडाम [Dr. Praveen Gedam appointed as Divisional Commissioner of Nashik] (in Marathi). Lokmat. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  13. ^ a b "NHA: Who's who". abdm.gov.in. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Sand Mining Approval and Tracking system (SMATS)" (PDF). Government of Maharashtra.
  15. ^ a b c Chatterjee, Badri (16 April 2017). "Illegal sand miners in India make ₹1,611-cr profit every year: Australian film". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  16. ^ a b Neha Madaan (9 October 2012). "Pune body to help Naxal-hit villages get water". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  17. ^ a b Sharma, R.S.; Rohatgi, Aishwarya; Jain, Sandeep; Singh, Dilip (31 March 2023). "The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM): making of India's Digital Health Story". CSIT. 11 (1): 3. doi:10.1007/s40012-023-00375-0. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h "Event Report- Don't break law, bend it for helping citizens, says Dr RC Sinha". www.mlfoundation.in. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  19. ^ a b c d "Two former Maharashtra ministers convicted in Rs 110-crore Jalgaon housing scam case". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  20. ^ a b c Santosh Sonawane (1 September 2019). "Two former Maha ministers among 48 convicted in multi-crore housing scam". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  21. ^ "GMC alumni to celebrate Platinum Jubilee today". www.thehitavada.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  22. ^ a b c "Advisory Board". Koita Centre for Digital Health. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  23. ^ नाशिक विभागीय आयुक्तपदी डॉ. प्रवीण गेडाम [Dr. Praveen Gedam appointed as Nashik Divisional Commissioner] (in Marathi). Loksatta. 1 June 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Former housing minister jailed in 29 crore scam". Mumbai Mirror. 12 March 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  25. ^ घरकुल घोटाळा प्रकरण: सुरेश जैन यांच्यासह सर्व आरोपी दोषी [Suresh Jain Gulabrao Devkar and 46 Accused Proved Guilty in Gharkul Scam)] (in Marathi). Loksatta. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  26. ^ a b "Petition against ban on auction of Tulja Bhavani donation boxes dismissed". The Indian Express. 11 July 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  27. ^ Hazarika, Abhimanyu (9 September 2024). "Supreme Court stays case against Tulja Bhavani temple management over misuse of donations". Bar and Bench. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  28. ^ Shirke, Abhijeet. "Bhakt Niwas at Tuljapur, Osmanabad, Maharashtra". Abhijeet Shirke. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  29. ^ Srivastava, Kanchan (29 July 2016). "State plans to grant 'government' status to Osmanabad engineering college". DNA India. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  30. ^ सोलापूरच्या जिल्हाधिकारीपदाची सूत्रे डॉ. प्रवीण गेडाम यांनी स्वीकारली [Dr. Praveen Gedam assumes charge as District Collector of Solapur] (in Marathi). Loksatta. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  31. ^ a b c "The Courage To Fight for Change". Moneylife. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Sand Mining Approval and Tracking system (SMATS)" (PDF). Government of Maharashtra.
  33. ^ "Centre's guidelines on sand mining are based on the model developed by Dr Praveen Gedam, keynote speaker at Moneylife Foundation's 6th Anniversary". Moneylife. 2 February 2016.
  34. ^ "Government launches Sand Mining Framework to check illegal extraction". The Economic Times. 20 March 2018. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  35. ^ Gedam, Praveen (12 December 2014). "Solar Dual Pump Water Supply Scheme" (PDF). Government of Maharashtra. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2022.
  36. ^ "Praveen Gedam new transport commissioner". The Siasat Daily. 30 July 2016.
  37. ^ Nair, Binoo (31 March 2017). "State portal to keep Uber, Ola in check". DNA. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  38. ^ "Gedam appointed Additional CEO, NHA". IndianMandarins. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  39. ^ "ABDM-Insights". dashboard.abdm.gov.in. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  40. ^ "PMJAY dashboard". National Health Authority.[not specific enough to verify]
  41. ^ "IAS Praveen N Gedam Gets Extension as Addl. CEO, NHA". Indian Masterminds. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  42. ^ "IAS Praveen N Gedam NHA Tenure Extended". APAC News Network. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
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