Nagpur: Adjusting to the dynamics of the big city, the new Municipal Commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari talked of making the Second Capital of Maharashtra one of the most liveable places in the country. He laid emphasis on faster delivery of civic services with an aim to raise the standard of living for the populace so that they too can benefit from the development process.
“The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) will be committed to providing basic amenities to citizens. My emphasis will be on making this city more liveable, with quality urban facilities reaching citizens at a faster speed,” said Abhijeet Chaudhari, who took over as the NMC Commissioner on Tuesday. He also promised a focus on improving water supply, healthcare, public transport, sanitation and parks.
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Thursday 09 Jan. 2025
Chaudhari, a 2011 IAS graduate and a native of Bhusawal, took over as NMC Commissioner from District Collector Vipin Itankar. Meanwhile, Ajay Gulhane, newly appointed Commissioner of Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, also handed over charge of NSSCDCL or Smart City Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to Chaudhari.
Speaking to the media after assuming office, Chaudhari — who has served in various parts of the state — said that there will always be efforts to give a new face of development to the city. “In recent times, Nagpur has seen rapid development. Be it the beautification of the streets done during the G-20 summit or regular works, my priority will now be to maintain such facilities. Online services of NMC will be further improved,” he said. Innovative ideas, suggestions from common citizens, public representatives will be honoured, said Chaudhari.
He said the administrator has free hand to implement any project, but elected representatives too play a major role in implementing development works. As there is an opportunity to work in this city, NMC will not fall short in providing basic facilities and needs of the citizens, he assured, adding care will be taken to ensure quality in any project and work.
When asked about the fragile financial condition of NMC, Chaudhari said nothing can be said about it at present. “A review regarding this will be done soon,” he said. After that, the Commissioner said he will take measures and decide the direction to be taken.
Currently, all three posts of Additional Commissioners are lying vacant in NMC. So, the workload will definitely be more, he admitted. “A request will soon be made to the state government regarding appointments to these posts. So that there can be more efficiency in regular work,” Chaudhari said.
Chaudhari has previously been Municipal Commissioner at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Kolhapur. He has also served as collector of Bhandara and Sangli districts. Before coming to Nagpur, he was Joint Commissioner GST at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
To a question, the young IAS officer said, there is no burden while serving in city having towering leaders; Nagpur is home town of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari: rather it helps in drawing upon their rich experience and charting out development strategy for next Millennia. Innovative ideas, suggestions from common citizens, public representatives will be welcomed and acted upon.
