Mumbai, Sep 15 (IANS) Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat took additional charge of Maharashtra on Monday. He was sworn in as the Governor of the state by the Bombay High Court Chief Justice, Justice Chandrashekhar, in a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.

Devvrat took the oath in the Sanskrit language. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, ministers, bureaucrats and other dignitaries were present during the oath-taking ceremony at Raj Bhavan.

As per the release issued last week by the office of the President of India, Devvrat will hold additional charge of the Maharashtra Governor while discharging his duties as the Gujarat Governor.

His appointment was made after the incumbent Governor, C.P. Radhakrishnan, demitted office following his election as the Vice President of India.

“Consequent upon demitting the office of the Governor of Maharashtra CP Radhakrishnan due to his election as the Vice-President of India, the President of India has appointed Acharya Devvrat, Governor of Gujarat, to discharge the functions of the Governor of Maharashtra, in addition to his own duties,” a press statement issued by the President’s Office on September 11 stated.

Devvrat, accompanied by his wife Darshana Devi, travelled from Ahmedabad to Mumbai aboard the Tejas Express on Sunday morning.

He has 45 years of experience in teaching and administration.

He served as Governor of Himachal Pradesh from August 12, 2015, to July 21, 2019. During this tenure, he extensively implemented various government and public participation programmes across Himachal Pradesh focused on natural farming, cow protection and breed improvement, ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save the Daughter, Educate the Daughter)’, social harmony, addiction eradication, tree plantation, and water conservation.

Devvrat was appointed Governor of Gujarat on July 22, 2019. Under the leadership and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and as per his vision, he established natural farming not only in Gujarat but also as a widespread initiative in other states. In Gujarat alone, over 5,00,000 farmers have shifted from chemical-based farming to natural farming.

–IANS

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