MUMBAI, Oct. 27 -- The announcement of a separate 'war room' for health schemes and the appointment of Devendra Fadnavis' trusted officer and MITRA CEO Praveen Pardeshi to head it is being perceived as the CM's tactic to yet again clip the wings of his deputy Eknath Shinde. The health portfolio is with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and headed by Shinde's MLA Prakash Abitkar, and bringing it under a separate officer is seen as infringing upon the powers of the health minister. The announcement of the war room for the integration of health services was made eight days ago. Fadnavis and Shinde run two separate medical cells in Mantralaya to help needy patients. Shinde had been running the Shiv Sena Medical Aid Cell even before becoming Maharashtra CM in 2022, and had earned a reputation and identity that he is sensitive about. The cell was officially moved to the sixth floor when he became CM. After stepping down from the post in December 2024 and becoming deputy CM in the Fadnavis-led government, Shinde set up a separate Dy CM Medical Aid Cell on the first floor of Mantralaya. His cell worked parallelly to the chief minister's medical aid cell on the sixth floor. The public health department implements various health schemes which offer free or subsidised treatment. Unlike the CM's medical aid cell, which has the authority to sanction financial aid, Shinde's cell has no financial provision and mainly works to provide aid through the Shiv Sena and schemes such as the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana. It is against this backdrop and amid the ongoing political cold war between Fadnavis and Shinde that the state government during Diwali announced the decision to set up the war room. While announcing it, officials from the chief minister's office (CMO) said that the war room's dedicated team would make sure that there was no duplication of health benefits. "It will ensure that every citizen gets the benefit of the right scheme as per their eligibility. It will also make sure that funds reach the real beneficiaries," said Rameshwar Naik, head of the Chief Minister's Relief Fund and Charitable Hospital Help Desk. An official from Shinde's cell declared that the move to set up a war room was another attempt by Fadnavis to corner Shinde. "The health department is with our party, and the war room on health schemes will be monitored by the CMO," he said. "It is a clear indication that the CMO will be in control." However, Mangesh Chivate, head of the Dy CM Medical Aid Cell, said that the war room would not affect them or the Shiv Sena Medical Aid Cell. "We are not in competition with the CM Medical Aid Cell but are supplementing its work," he said. "They have powers to give funds to patients and we don't. We only guide needy patients on which health schemes they can benefit from. We also request private hospitals to give poor patients a concession in their bills. It is different work and it will not stop."...