New civic chief Subodh Kumar means business. And he does not want anyone to come between him and his work.
New civic chief Subodh Kumar means business. And he does not want anyone to come between him and his work. He has instructed all the elected representatives not to barge into his office. “Meet me only after taking an appointment,” he has specifically said.
Kumar recently refused to meet opposition leader and MLA Rajhans Singh who rushed to the civic commissioner without informing him in advance. “The civic chief asked Rajhans to take an appointment from his personal secretary and only then visit him,” sources told DNA. Singh, however, denied the incident. But sources said the MLA has no choice since it was the Congress who roped in Kumar with an eye on the 2012 civic polls.
NCP corporator and group leader Niyaz Wanu said elected representatives are now scared at the prospect of meeting Kumar. “We have a habit of entering the civic commissioner’s office anytime. Kumar wants to ensure discipline among the corporators. It will help save his time as well as that of the representatives. Else, they will either be insulted or made to wait for long periods,” he said.
Kumar’s disciplined style of functioning, however, has also found criticism among his staff. “We are elected representatives of the city. If a fire or any untoward incident takes place in our constituency, we will not wait for the civic commissioner’s appointment. We should have round-the-clock access to the commissioner’s cabin. We won’t tolerate such dictatorial behaviour by Kumar. If he continues to act this way, we will answer him in ‘Sena’ style,” Rahul Shewale, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC’s) standing committee chairman, told DNA.
“We respect the civic commissioner. However, Kumar is crossing all limits with his appointment barrier. We did not expect a warm welcome or flowers from him. But he should allow us to see him anytime,” a Congress corporator said on the condition of anonymity.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) group leader Mangesh Sangale said he was very disappointed with Kumar’s behaviour with Raj Thackeray. The MNS chief met Kumar and appreciated Kumar’s style of functioning. He even extended his support to the civic commissioner to sort out the city’s problems.
However, Kumar stunned Thackeray by saying that the “city belongs to everyone”. He also said the BMC will consider worthwhile suggestions from the MNS on improving the city. “If the new commissioner does not improve his behaviour, we will answer him in MNS style,” Sangale said.
Kumar did not respond to calls from DNA. His personal assistant said, “Sir is not meeting anyone because he is busy preparing the BMC’s annual budget. You can meet him only after taking an appointment.”
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