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Mahesh Pathak is new Pune muncipal commisioner chief

The 49-year-old is a 1991 batch IAS officer. He holds an MTech in industrial engineering. Anupkumar Yadav has been appointed as the additional municipal commissioner.

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The state government has appointed Mahesh Pathak, now higher and technical education secretary, as the new municipal commissioner of Pune. He will replace the incumbent, Mahesh Zagade.

Pathak, who is currently in West Bengal to help conduct elections to the state legislative assembly, confimed to DNA on telephone that he has got a message about his new appointment. 

“Since I am busy with assembly poll duty in West Bengal, I would be able to take charge in the PMC only next week, after counting of votes is over,” he said. The 49-year-old Pathak is a 1991 batch IAS officer. He holds an MTech in industrial engineering.

 According to sources, the state government has appointed another IAS officer, Anupkumar Yadav, as the additional municipal commissioner.

The state government’s move assume significance since civic activists in Pune wrote to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan recently to ensure that Zagade is reinstated PMC commissioner after his mid-career training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri IAS Academy in Mussorie. By the end of April, they had garnered 350 signatures to ask for the recall of Zagade from training.

Pune divisional commissioner Dilip Band is holding additional charge as Pune municipal commissioner. There was uproar in the general body meeting of the PMC over Band’s absence on April 27.

The sudden transfer has met with strong protest from citizens and activists alike.  President of the National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC), Satish Khot, termed the transfer of Zagade a deliberate ploy on the part of politicians. 

“As soon as Zagade started cracking the whip on illegal constructions and on land grabbers, he was transferred. It was all part of a ploy on the part of the ruling party to get him out of Pune. Puneites are not fools, and it was not difficult for us to understand why Zagade was transferred,” he stated.

RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar, termed the transfer of Zagade as “an act of cowardice” on the part of politicians. “This is a victory of illegality over the process of law.”said Vinita Deshmukh, convenor of Right to Information Forum for Instant Information (RFII),

“Zagade’s transfer is a shameful example of how, despite having a transfer act in place, the politicians refuse to implement it.”
Citing how Zagade was instrumental in taming various irregularities in the building permission department, she stated that Zagade’s transfer is a sign that vested interest are protecting criminal sharks at the expense of a better city.

Member of Sajag Nagrik Manch, Vivek Velankar, citied the transfer of Zagade, as an example of “excellent planning and execution on the part of the politicians”, whose illegal activities Zagade had posed a threat.

Major General (retd) SCN Jatar, terming the transfer of Zagade as a great losssaid, “It appears all those who are honest and upright are being removed from critical posts.”

RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar, termed the transfer of Zagade as “an act of cowardice” on the part of politicians.

“This is a victory of illegality over the process of law.”said Vinita Deshmukh, convenor of Right to Information Forum for Instant Information (RFII), “Zagade’s transfer is a shameful example of how, despite having a transfer act in place, the politicians refuse to implement it.”

Citing how Zagade was instrumental in taming various irregularities in the building permission department, she stated that Zagade’s transfer is a sign that vested interest are protecting criminal sharks at the expense of a better city.

Member of Sajag Nagrik Manch, Vivek Velankar, citied the transfer of Zagade, as an example of “excellent planning and execution on the part of the politicians, whose illegal activities Zagade had posed a threat. They succeeded in their plan, much to the shame of the city.”

Another civic activist, Major General (retd) SCN Jatar, termed the transfer of Zagade as a great loss for Pune. “It appears to me that all those who are honest and upright are being removed from critical postings,” he said.

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