Second IAS officer appointed in Thane to tackle Covid

As Covid cases in Thane are increasing rapidly, the state government has appointed another IAS officer to tackle the situation.

As Covid cases in Thane are increasing rapidly, the state government has appointed another IAS officer to tackle the situation.

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Ranjeet Kumar, appointed as special officer, will be the second IAS officer besides the present Thane civic commissioner Vijay Singhal.

The new officer will have the same rights as that of the civic commissioner with respect to some projects. He will be in charge of setting up the new 1,000-bed hospital at Global Impact Hub in Saket.

The number of cases in the city has increased from 300 on May 1 to 1,891 on May 23.

The demand for another IAS was made by the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party corporators during a recent meeting with guardian minister Eknath Shinde. The state has approved the demand.

Sandeep Malvi, deputy municipal commissioner of TMC, said, “Kumar has been sent as a special officer from the state. The civic commissioner along with the elected representatives had made the demand of more manpower to tackle the Covid situation. TMC commissioner Vijay Singhal has given him the responsibility to oversee the work of the 1000-bed hospital. He will also be in-charge of carrying out surveillance in containment zones.”

Kumar was the coordinator of information technology department in the Mantralaya. In Thane, he will be assisted by deputy municipal commissioner Vishwajeet Kelkar.