Bhushan Gagrani, a 1990-batch IAS officer has been appointed as the new Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner. The Maharashtra government appointed Gagrani on the directions of Election Commission of India (ECI).
Bhushan Gagrani was serving as additional chief secretary in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). He will replace Iqbal Singh Chahal, who has been moved out from the post of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner on EC orders.
The election commission has also asked the Maharashtra government to appoint senior bureaucrats Saurabh Rao and Kailash Shinde as the new commissioners of adjoining Thane and Navi Mumbai municipalities respectively.
The commission directed that the three officers shall not hold any additional charge outside their respective corporation.
In a stern letter addressed to Chief Secretary Nitin Kareer dated March 18, ECI Secretary S.K. Das had said that “the Government of Maharashtra did not comply with the order dated December 21, 2023 saying that no officer connected directly with elections shall be allowed to continue in the present district (revenue district) or in her or his home district or if he or she has completed three years in that district during the last four years or would be completing three years on or before June 30”.
The commission directed that the three officers shall not hold any additional charge outside their respective corporation.
Who is Bhushan Gagrani?
A native of Maharashtra, Gagrani is considered an efficient and non controversial officer. He has served as the state urban development department secretary and principal secretary to Uddhav Thackeray during his chief ministerial tenure. Gagrani also held the post of Director General of the Information and Public Relations Department (DGIPR).
Bhushan Gagrani has previously served in departments such as industries, public health, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the State Tourism Development Corporation, Cidco, and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
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