Shinde govt once again urges EC to exempt Chahal from transfer

The state government has once again requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to exempt transfers of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner I S Chahal and other officers, citing their crucial role in the upcoming monsoon

Mumbai: The state government has once again requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to exempt transfers of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner I S Chahal and other officers, citing their crucial role in the upcoming monsoon.

Mumbai, India - February 04, 2023: BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal addresses a press conference after presenting the BMC Budget 2023-24 at BMC Headquarters, in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, February 04, 2023. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

The poll panel in February asked the state to transfer all the commissioners and chief officers in the district councils if they had completed three years in one post or one district. In its response, the state urged the ECI to exclude the municipal commissioners from the rule, as the monsoon preparatory works by the respective civic body may be affected. However, the ECI rejected the request.

The state then transferred Akola municipal commissioner Kavita Dwivedi and Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar. According to officials, chief minister Eknath Shinde is not in favour of Chahal’s transfer.

Taking a serious note of the delay in transferring Mumbai commissioner and administrator Chahal, additional commissioners P Velrasu, Ashwini Bhide, and a few additional commissioners from across the state, the poll panel earlier this week again wrote to the government seeking compliance with the norms. A few days later, the state wrote back to the ECI with a similar request to exempt these officers.

“The decision will now be taken by the ECI,” said S Chockalingam, chief electoral officer, Maharashtra.

In a related development, the state government on Saturday transferred Anoop Kumar, additional chief secretary (agriculture), as additional chief secretary, in-charge of the co-operation department. The IAS officer is due to retire in August this year and headed the co-operation department earlier. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar municipal commissioner Astik Kumar Pandey has been posted as commissioner, Employment State Insurance Scheme, Mumbai.

Among IPS officers, Vinayak Deshmukh, additional commissioner of eastern region, was transferred to Thane police while Mahesh Patil, Thane additional commissioner of police (west), was transferred to the eastern region.