Lockdown: Expert panel submits economy report to Maharashtra Dy CM

A panel of experts formed to suggest ways to bring back on track Maharashtra's economy hit by the COVID-19 crisis and the resultant lockdown submitted its report to the cabinet subcommittee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday.

The cabinet subcommittee of ministers and the experts' panel were formed last month.

The recommendations made in the report were discussed in the subcommittee's meeting held at the state secretariat on Friday, and the panel report will be tabled before the cabinet along with suggestions made by the subcommittee, according to an official statement.

A final decision on the report will be taken in the state cabinet's meeting, Pawar said.

The subcommittee meeting was attended by PWD Minister Ashok Chavan, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil, Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, Transport Minister Anil Parab, Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik and Energy Minister Nitin Raut, while Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal took part from Nashik through video conferencing, the statement said.

The 11-member panel included former top bureaucrats JS Sahani, Subodh Kumar, Ramanath Jha, Umeshchandra Sarangi, Jayant Kavale and Sudhir Shrivastav.

Others on the panel included serving additional chief secretary of the finance department Manoj Saunik, additional chief secretary of the planning department Debashish Chakravarty.