Pune municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar, on Wednesday, was transferred on deputation to the Central government and will join as joint secretary, ministry of housing and urban affairs. it is expected that he will be smart city director at the centre.
After Srikar Pardeshi, this is the second IAS officer from Pune to be moved to the centre to man Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet smart city project.
Pardeshi was working as chairman and managing director at Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) when he was moved to the centre.
The Maharashtra government will no need to relieve Kunal Kumar within a week or two.
Kunal Kumar said, “I was happy to serve in Pune as municipal commissioner and it enriched me. I really enjoyed working in Pune to do my best for the city’s development. The Pune experience will help me in my future.”
Kumar’s transfer was expected as he completed his three-year tenure in Pune and judging his own interest in the smart city project, it was expected that the government would depute him to something related to the smart city endeavour.
Kumar took lot of effort to get Pune selected for the Smart City scheme Modi and the then Union urban minister Venkaiyyah Naidu announced the competition for cities. Pune ranked second in the country in the smart city scheme and Pune smart city today is a mentor for other smart cities.
{{/usCountry}}Kumar took lot of effort to get Pune selected for the Smart City scheme Modi and the then Union urban minister Venkaiyyah Naidu announced the competition for cities. Pune ranked second in the country in the smart city scheme and Pune smart city today is a mentor for other smart cities.
{{/usCountry}}Major decisions in Kunal Kumar’s tenure
Pune Metro
Pune Smart City
24x7 water scheme
Cycle Plan
Optical fibre duct policy
Development plan for old city limit
Shiv Shrusti