Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA) is a senior appointment in the Indian Navy. One of the five Area Commanders of the Indian Navy, the FOMA is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The FOMA has operational control of the flotilla and forces assigned for the local naval defence of all ports in Maharashtra and the 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron. Apart from this, the FOMA is responsible for the operations and administration of all units and establishments in Maharashtra. The current FOMA is Rear Admiral Vidhyadhar Harke, who assumed office on 1 August 2026.
History On 1 April 1985, the upgradation of the post of Naval Officer-in-Charge (NOIC) Bombay was approved. It was upgraded from the rank of Commodore to Rear Admiral and re-designated Flag Officer Bombay. The implementation of this happened in March 1987 and the appointment was designated Flag Officer Maharashtra (FOMA). The FOMA would have operational control of all forces assigned for the local naval defence of all ports in Maharashtra, and would be responsible for the administration of all establishments and units in Bombay.
In 1993, FOMA was operationalised and proceeded to sea in a flotilla of minor ships. The 22nd missile vessel squadron commanded by K22 was also brought under the FOMA. In 2008, the Maharashtra Naval Area was expanded to include Gujarat, Daman and Diu. The Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG) headed the combined Naval area.
After a brief period, in 2015, to enhance the operational and administrative efficiency, the Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area was divided to make two separate headquarters under (FOMA) and the Flag Officer Commanding Gujarat Naval Area (FOGNA). The last Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area, Rear Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar handed over command of the Maharashtra Area to Rear Admiral S. N. Ghormade.
Organisation The FOMA is assisted by the NOIC (Maharashtra) and the Chief Staff Officer at Headquarters Gujarat Naval Area (HQMNA), both one-star appointments. The FOMA reports to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. The establishments under the FOMA include: Headquarters Maharashtra Naval Area (HQMNA) 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron (Killer squadron) The naval base INS Angre The missile battery base INS Trata The naval base INS Agnibahu Sagar Prahari Bal, Mumbai
List of Commanders S.No. Name Assumed office Left office NotesFlag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA)1Rear Admiral S. W. Lakhkar 23 March 19879 June 1987First FOMA. Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.2Rear Admiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat 9 June 19878 August 1988 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.3Rear Admiral P. A. Debrass 8 August 1988 17 October 19894Rear Admiral Sushil Kumar 17 October 198924 July 1991Later Chief of the Naval Staff.5Rear Admiral V. K. Malhotra 24 July 199125 October 19926Rear Admiral Vinod Pasricha 25 October 199223 December 1993Later Commandant of the National Defence College and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.7Rear Admiral Gupteshwar Rai 23 December 199331 July 1995First Flag Officer Sea Training.8Rear Admiral Raman Puri 31 July 199515 October 1997Later Chief of Integrated Defence Staff.9Rear Admiral S. C. S. Bangara 15 October 199721 October 1998Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.10Rear Admiral Ajit Tewari 21 October 199826 April 2000Later Chairman & Managing Director Hindustan Shipyard.11Rear Admiral Ravi Chander Kochhar 26 April 200026 February 2002As FOMA, headed the IFR cell during the Internal Fleet Review 2001.12Rear Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma 26 February 200228 November 2003Later Chief of the Naval Staff.13Rear Admiral Mahendra Pratap Taneja 28 November 200323 May 200514Rear Admiral I. K. Saluja 24 May 200520 March 200615Rear Admiral D. K. Dewan 20 March 200617 March 2007Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.16Rear Admiral A. V. Kalaskar 17 March 200724 January 200817Rear Admiral M. P. Muralidharan 24 January 200830 August 2008Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG)18Rear Admiral M. P. Muralidharan 1 September 20088 December 2008Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.19Rear Admiral Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee 8 December 200831 August 2009Later Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command.20Rear Admiral Sunil Lanba31 August 200925 January 2011Later Chief of the Naval Staff.21Rear Admiral Bimal Verma 25 January 201131 May 2012Later Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command.22Rear Admiral Karambir Singh 31 May 201219 August 2013Later Chief of the Naval Staff.23Rear Admiral G. Ashok Kumar 19 August 20137 November 2014Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.24Rear Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar 7 November 201421 October 2015Later Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA)25Rear Admiral Satishkumar Namdeo Ghormade 21 October 201517 October 2016Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.26Rear Admiral Sanjay Mahindru 17 October 201612 February 2018Later Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.27Rear Admiral Puneet Kumar Bahl 12 February 201825 March 2019Later Commandant of Indian Naval Academy.28Rear Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar 12 February 20188 February 2020Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.29Rear Admiral Vennam Srinivas 8 February 202022 February 2021Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.30Rear Admiral Atul Anand 22 February 202116 December 2021Current Additional secretary, Department of Military Affairs.31Rear Admiral Sandeep Mehta 16 December 202118 November 202232Rear Admiral A. N. Pramod 18 November 202210 November 2023Current Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.33Rear Admiral Manish Chadha 10 November 20231 September 2024Current Commandant of Indian Naval Academy.34Rear Admiral Anil Jaggi1 September 202417 October 2025Current Commandant of the National Defence Academy.35Rear Admiral Shantanu Jha 17 October 202531 July 202636Rear Admiral Vidhyadhar Harke 1 August 2026PresentCurrent FOMA.
See also INS Angre
References
Bibliography