Senior IAS officer Ajoy Mehta took charge as the new Commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), replacing Sitaram Kunte, whose term was to end on April 30.
An IAS officer of the 1985 batch, Kunte had faced flak over the controversial Draft Development Plan for Mumbai which was eventually scrapped by the state government.
“I thank the state government for giving me this responsibility and I will try my best to ensure that Mumbaikars are given the best of services by the municipal corporation,” Mehta said.
However, Mehta evaded media queries on the Mumbai development plan.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had also ordered BMC to prepare a fresh Development Plan, taking into cognisance the complaints that have been received on the previous plan.
Mehta, a IAS officer of 1984 batch was the joint municipal commissioner in the BMC in the 1990s.
He has also served as Collector of Ahmednagar district and Municipal Commissioner of Nashik.
He is a former Chief of state agriculture department and has a significant bureaucratic experience in the power sector and has been credited with bringing drastic changes in the sector.
Mehta had also effectively implemented the surplus power plan for the state.
The government has not announced a new posting for Kunte, who was in the eye of a storm after MCGM put out the draft of a flawed 20-year development plan (DP) for the city.
The draft DP published on 24 February came under severe criticism as it suggested an increase in floor space index, which indicates permissible construction on any plot, opening up of no-development zones for residential development, factual mistakes in existing land use and change in reservation policy, besides suggesting opening up of 1,287 hectares of Aarey Milk colony located in the western suburb of Goregaon that is considered to be the green lung of Mumbai for institutional development, among others.
Following a public outcry, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis appointed a committee led by chief secretary Swadheen Kshatriya to study the issue and make recommendations.
Acting upon the Kshatriya committee’s report last week, the government directed MCGM to correct the mistakes and revise the DP within four months.
However, Kunte still defended the DP, claiming mistakes were minor and some people are trying to create a mountain out of a molehill.
