Maharashtra: New Shinde-led govt targets BMC assistant commissioners, including Thackeray's favourite

Mumbai: Just hours after successfully proving its majority on the assembly floor, the newly minted ED (Eknath-Devendra) government trained its guns on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The state government reshuffled three assistant commissioners on Monday. Among them is Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of G-north ward. He is said to be close to former cabinet minister Aditya Thackrey. For the past three years, he worked in Shiv Sena stronghold Dadar.

Dighavkar, now shifted to E ward in Byculla, has been replaced by assistant civic chief Prashant Sakpale of K-east ward (Andheri and Jogeshwari). Similarly, assistant municipal commissioner Manish Walunju of E ward will take charge from Sakpale.

Dighavkar's work in handling Covid pandemic in Dharavi had earned him praise. He even wrote a book ‘The Dharavi Model’, which was released by former chief minister Uddhav Thackrey. As the head of BMC planning department, Dighavkar had implemented a few pet projects of Aaditya.

“I tried my best to deliver for the residents in these years. Along with routine administrative works, we launched the country’s first drive-in vaccination centre at Dharavi. Other projects include restoration of Mahim beach, Dadar viewing deck, rainwater harvesting and mitigation of dust at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park. None of this would have happened without the support of my staff. We worked relentlessly as a team," Dighavkar told The Free Press Journal.