Mumbai
Meet H/West ward's Chandrakant Tambe, an MBA in the making, who goes beyond the call of duty to deliver his best
Updated : Nov 28, 2014, 07:53 PM IST
H/West ward's Chandrakant Tambe, who works as a Junior Overseer in the Solid Waste Management (SWM) department, is a multi-faceted officer. He is popular in the ward for his enthusiastic approach towards work and is liked equally by social activists due to his forthcoming nature. We chat up with Tambe in his dainty office that encompasses vermicompost, plants, re-used flower pots, segregated waste and also a miniature terrace garden.
Talking about his work, Tambe shares, "My main aim is to work on the image of SWM and the overall reputation of the corporation. We have a huge working force and in order to keep them motivated and working efficiently is a big task. So, my focus areas lie in bringing in positivity for the colleagues, motivating my co-workers and creating a new shining image."
Tambe is among the very few BMC staffers, who approach housing societies and conduct awareness campaigns with the help of PowerPoint presentations. BMC officers are infamous for stocking old files and not being tech-savvy in today's technology-driven era. Hence, Tambe's PowerPoint-on-projector approach comes across as refreshing. He adds, "For any initiative, meeting or campaign, I prepare a PPT and show it to people."
To improve the quality of his work and continue his quest to learn more, Tambe has enrolled himself at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) and is currently pursuing an MBA degree, with a specialisation in social entrepreneurship. He explains, "I was very keen on studying and learning management skills, which can be implemented in my work. Also, I was greatly supported by my seniors, so I have begun with my studies."
Ever so modest, Tambe says that he aims to gain as much knowledge, research and techniques to modify working patterns and renew working approaches. With the new techniques that he has learnt, Tambe has managed to convince few housing societies to adopt waste segregation and composting. He shares, "It is no rocket science to learn about waste management. Sixty per cent of house waste is organic and if residents learn how to segregate it, my workload would be reduced to half."
Keeping the city clean by not littering, segregating the waste, composting and following the mantra of 'reduce-reuse-recycle' can be accomplished if all the citizens take ownership. Tambe believes that if every citizen takes the responsibility of these civic necessities, a lot of trouble can be averted. He explains, "It is a dual responsibility and if citizens are more sensitive towards waste management and cleanliness, we would come a long way." Tambe believes that sensitisation towards civic duties and changing mindsets is now paramount.
His earnestness, dedication and honesty is vouched for by several people, who were more than happy to share their opinion about Tambe:
Seema Redkar, Officer on Special Duty in the Solid Waste Management Department of MCGM says, "I am so glad that we have such an honest and dedicated officer in the corporation. He was keen on academics so I motivated him to pursue his ambitions. He is doing pretty well; we need officers like him."
Surindra Khubchandani, member, H/West Federation, says, "Tambe is a very sincere, hardworking and obedient officer; rare to find these days. I am glad that H/West has an officer like him."
Kiran Potdar, Assistant Engineer, SWM Department, H/West ward, shares, "I am proud that Tambe has gone the extra mile to pursue his studies and manage his work at the same time. He comes up with various ideas and initiatives which I, as his boss, always encourage him to take forward."
Madhumita Ray, a Santacruz-based resident, shares, "I have no words to describe the earnestness of this officer as he is so forthcoming; he breaks every stereotypical image we have about BMC staffers."