Mumbai Confidential: Plan cancelled

The apparent overzealousness on part of certain BMC officials to beautify the area around the Municipal Commissioner's bungalow has earned them the wrath of their boss Dr Iqbal Singh Chahal.

BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal

PLAN CANCELLED

The apparent overzealousness on part of certain BMC officials to beautify the area around the Municipal Commissioner’s bungalow has earned them the wrath of their boss Dr Iqbal Singh Chahal. Officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) D Ward had recently floated a tender worth Rs 36.58 lakh to beautify the area around the Commissioner’s bungalow – a heritage structure on M L Dahanukar Marg in south Mumbai — by setting up 40 ornamental lamp posts around it. Chahal, who said that he was unaware of the proposal, called up the ward staff and scolded the officials before asking them to cancel the plan, asserting that there was no need for it. “I was not aware of this tender. I have warned the ward not to issue such tenders without taking my consent. This stands cancelled immediately and I have asked the ward to notify immediately,” said Chahal.

SOME CONTINUITY, PLEASE

The Haffkine Bio Pharma Corporation – a key body of the state government — has seen four managing directors in a year. It is an organisation that procures medicines for various government organisations and will now produce Covaxin too. Till February, Dr Sandeep Rathod of Tripura cadre was the Managing Director of the body. Later, the government appointed Dr Madhavi Khode to the post but in keeping with her wish to be with her family, she was later posted as additional commissioner of Nagpur. The then MVA government then posted Madan Nagargoje, on deputation from Madhya Pradesh, as the MD of Haffkine. After the Eknath Shinde government took over, Suman Rawat has been made the MD. Employees are now asking for continuity in the command.

TIME TO MOVE

State Congress chief Nana Patole once used to occupy the A-10 bungalow opposite Mantralaya when he was speaker of the Assembly. But when he became the state Congress chief, citing the “inconvenient location” of the office at Tanna House, he asked for this bungalow to be used as party office – a request that the Public Works Department (PWD) turned down. And now, with the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government gone, the PWD is expected to soon ask him to vacate the premises. Says Patole: “I have asked the CM to help retain the bungalow as our office in Tanna house is in a location that is difficult to access. But if they don’t allow me, I will shift to a house in Worli.”