As an elected representative of people of Nagpur, he was instrumental in resolving long pending and complex land ownership issues. He is known to be a fervent advocate for the cause of equitable development of Vidarbha region, for which he was felicitated with prestigious Nag Bhushan Award in 2016.
Shri Fadnavis holds the record of becoming the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra to complete a full five-year term in last 47 years and only the second one in entire history of Maharashtra.
Fadnavis’ tenure as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra was exemplary. People centric inclusive governance with knowledge driven policy making, use of technology as key enabler, dynamic approach towards development, problem solving and result oriented frameworks for project implementation were features of his transformative rule tenure.
Besides serving as the Chief Minister, he held other portfolios too, such as Home, General Administration, IT, Urban Development, Law and Judiciary, Ports, and Information & Public Relations.
Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan, an ambitious program which aimed at making Maharashtra drought free is an example of his understanding of aspirations of people and his ability to mobilise these aspirations into the mission. The program received tremendous response from not only the farmers but from people across all walks of life. It was a unique example where a government program turned into a people’s movement. The success of the program is not only limited to creation of 6 lakh plus low cost, decentralised water structures across 22 thousand plus villages but the program also facilitated harmony in many villages, empowering people to join hands to mobilise resources and to find their own sustainable solutions.
Fadnavis’ strong inclination towards transparency and good governance was evident when he announced to enact the Right to Service Act in the very first cabinet meeting of his government. At the time, it was first of its kind legislation in the country to ensure efficient delivery of Public Services. Eventually 393 services were brought online that benefitted lakhs of people. ‘Aaple Sarkar’ too is one of a kind grievance redressal platform started by him for the ease in remedy to the common man.
Fadnavis’ inclusive leadership also involved many out-of-the-box ideas such as Chief Minister Fellowship Program. Youth in their twenties were invited to join government to bring in fresh perspective and energy in governance and policymaking.
Infrastructure projects got tremendous impetus during his tenure. His project management approach and problem-solving skills along with a War Room to monitor the implementation of key projects, ensured that the bottlenecks were removed and projects were expedited; be it Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur Metro projects, Nagpur- Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway, Coastal Road or MTHL (Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link).
Under his stewardship and persistent efforts to boost investment and industrialisation, Maharashtra had achieved the feat of attracting 50% of the total FDI inflow into the country in 2016.
Fadnavis is seen as a promising leader by investors and corporates. He successfully mobilised their support for social good. His initiatives such as Village Social Transformation Mission, SMART (creation of value chains for agricultural produces) and Sahabhag (Social Responsibility Cell) were hailed and supported by industry leaders.
Given his in-depth knowledge and unique approach towards sustainable development he was invited by several national and international agencies for his inputs on sustainable agriculture, climate change and energy security. The most prestigious of these was invitation of NITI Aayog to chair the High-Power Committee of Chief Ministers on Transformation of Agriculture.
Devendra Fadnavis’s political acumen and skills have been recognised by several forums, both nationally and internationally. He has been the recipient of many honors. He was elected as the Secretary of Global Parliamentarians Forum on Habitat for Asia region. He is the first Indian to be selected for an Honorary Doctorate by Osaka City University, Japan for his initiatives to implement major reforms for the cause of socio-economic development in Maharashtra. He has received the honor of being Singapore’s prestigious Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow. USA’s Georgetown University has honored him with the Outstanding Leadership in Development Award.
Amidst the hustle bustle of his socio-political life Devendra Fadnavis, is a dutiful son to Smt. Sarita Fadnavis, a devout husband to banker and social worker Amruta Fadnavis and doting father to Divija. He is a private person who enjoys writing, reading, watching movies and web-series, cricket, listening to music in his moments of solitude.
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