Adhia, Rathore Get Wider Roles As Heads Of State-Run Units, Ventures

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s government has appointed Adhia, former finance secretary of India, as the chairman of the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) and Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd – both listed Public Sector Units (PSUs). Besides, he would also head the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) city project, aimed at creating a central business district in Gandhinagar, a state government notification said.

Rathore, retired Secretary of Roads and Buildings Department of the Gujarat government, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and would be in charge of its Dholera Special Investment Regional Development Authority, a special purpose vehicle that is building a greenfield industrial city near Ahmedabad.

Gujarat Maritime Board is a port sector regulator, which also operates over a dozen small ports across the vast 1,660-kilometer-long coastline in the state.

Rathore is also the chairman of Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation, which is implementing metro rail projects in Ahmedabad and Surat.

As the principal adviser to the chief minister, Adhia looks after key departments like finance, education, energy, petrochemicals and renewable energy and all policy-related matters including investments. In his role as the adviser to the chief minister, Rathore manages roads, buildings, and infrastructure-related matters. Both the advisers are considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former chief minister of Gujarat, who is believed to be roping in his trusted aides to run the state administration. According to state government sources, increased responsibilities of Adhia and Rathore indicate a greater role they would both play in matters related to policy, PSUs, special ventures and new projects.