Bengaluru: After nearly six months, Namma Metro will be headed by a full-time managing director.
The state government on Thursday posted Maheshwar Rao M, a 1995-batch Karnataka-cadre IAS officer, as the managing director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
Rao replaces Anjum Parwez, a 1994-batch IAS officer who helmed the BMRCL since July 2021.
During Parwez's stint, the Bengaluru metro network increased from 48 km to 74 km, making it the second largest in India.
The state government last year gave Parwez the additional charge as the principal secretary of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department.
Rao holds a BA (Mathematics, Economics and Statistics) from Nizam College, Hyderabad, and an MA (Economics) from the University of Hyderabad. He held several positions in the Karnataka government. He was the Commissioner of Industrial Development, the Director of Industries and Commerce, and the Principal Secretary of the Department of Labour.
In 2020, he was sent on central deputation as Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Department of Space, based in Bengaluru. Two years later, he was elevated to Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor in the same department. In December 2023, the union government repatriated him to the Karnataka cadre.
Since Namma Metro is a joint venture of the state and union governments, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has stipulated that the full-time MD shall be removed/transferred only with the prior consent of the government of India. Besides, the Karnataka government shall not give him any other/additional assignment without prior consent from the ministry.
Rao will have his task cut out as Namma Metro looks to open the Yellow Line (RV Road-Bommasandra) and the northern extension of the Green Line this year. The Pink Link (Kalena Agrahara-Nagavara) and the Blue Line (Silk Board-Airport) are the other two under-construction lines. The BMRCL is also working on expanding the network through Phases 3, 3A and 4.
Published 11 January 2024, 15:26 IST