E-Paper
Eyebrows raised over posting of non-IAS officer at BMC
SUCH A paradox seldom, if ever, occurred in the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) before. Defying the ?tradition? officers and corporators alike are saying that the BMC saw its best ever six months during the short tenure of Manish Singh (IAS) as Commissioner.
SUCH A paradox seldom, if ever, occurred in the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) before. Defying the ‘tradition’ officers and corporators alike are saying that the BMC saw its best ever six months during the short tenure of Manish Singh (IAS) as Commissioner.
This is unusual. For, the BMC has a rather egregious history of creating hurdles in the way of honest and innovative commissioners. Manish Singh has been an exception. His unceremonious shifting is being felt all the more acutely because BMC is embarking on several ambitious projects worth Rs 2500-crore.
Singh had been passionately working on plans to execute these schemes. These include the Asian Development Bank-funded schemes worth Rs 180 crore and Union Government-funded schemes under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) worth Rs 2153 crore.
Besides, Rs 240-crore scheme to bring Narmada water to the State capital is already underway. In view of the schemes and quantum of funds involved in them, the then chief minister Babulal Gaur had committed that the commissioners of municipal corporations in four big cities of the State would be IAS officers.
But new BMC Commissioner, who is also coincidentally Manish Singh, is not only from State Administrative Service (SAS) but also junior to some officers in the corporation itself.
The State Government has removed three BMC commissioners in the past two years. Manish Singh (IAS) sparked several rows for defying politicians, especially on encroachment issues. This endeared him even more to the staff besides engendering
a sneaking admiration among the corporators. BJP corporator Alok Sanjar feels the last six months was the best period during his own six years in the BMC. Mayor-in-Council member Mohammed Sarwar, a three-time corporator, said that he had never seen such an excellent functioning of BMC before.
Sources said that Manish Singh (IAS) was removed at the behest of an influential builder and a BJP leader. His shifting is also being seen in the context of the proposed BMC operation against illegal construction in a campus on Raisen Road from Tuesday.
Manish Singh has set a benchmark for his successor. During the short span of six months, he increased the revenue collection by Rs 10 crore. He also introduced at lease six innovative taxes to further increase the revenue. Besides, several measures were taken to streamline the functioning of BMC, especially in the building permission cell.
