BMC shuffles top post ahead of civic polls; Amit Saini moved out, Dhakne to take charge

In a pre-election shakeup, Mumbai's additional municipal commissioner Dr. Amit Saini has been transferred amid scrutiny over civic engineer transfers.

MUMBAI: In a significant administrative reshuffle ahead of the long-pending Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, additional municipal commissioner (eastern suburbs) Dr Amit Saini has been transferred. His next posting is yet to be announced.

BMC shuffles top post ahead of civic polls; Amit Saini moved out, Dhakne to take charge

The state government has appointed Avinash Dhakne, a 2010-batch IAS officer and currently member secretary of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), to replace him. Dhakne, 55, who was transferred from MPCB on October 8 and kept waiting for a new assignment, has previously served as Jalgaon collector, Solapur municipal commissioner, managing director of Goregaon Film City and later at MPCB.

Saini, a 2007-batch IAS officer and a trained medical doctor, has been under political scrutiny over the mass transfer of 160 civic engineers, a move that drew sharp criticism from several quarters, including Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam. Satam wrote to municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani alleging a cash-for-transfer racket within the civic body, claiming staff were being charged anywhere between ₹5 lakh and ₹40 lakh for prime postings. Following the complaint, Gagrani stayed all the transfers.

Saini, who took charge as additional commissioner in March 2024, will receive a new posting shortly, officials said.

Meanwhile, the government has also cleared several other senior-level transfers: Atul Patne (1999 batch), former tourism secretary, has been posted as principal secretary, Administrative Innovation, Excellence and Good Governance, GAD. Kanhuraj Bagate, former director (Information Technology), has been appointed joint secretary, Planning Department.