After ticking off his party’s erstwhile saffron ally on the contentious Vidarbha statehood issue, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has — through his statement that he plans to appoint a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) — rubbed the Shiv Sena wrong way once again, with the Sena alleging that the move is a part of BJP’s game plan to carve out Mumbai from Maharashtra.
Within days after he earned the Sena’s wrath by reviving the Vidarbha statehood issue, Fadnavis touched the raw nerve of the Sena by saying that his Government would soon appoint a senior IAS officer of the Additional Chief Secretary’s rank as the CEO of Mumbai to co-ordinate the development activities being carried out by the various agencies, including the Brihanmujmbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), Maharashtra House Area Development Authority and Slum Rehabilitation (SRA).
Fadnavis’ initiative is a step in right direction, given that currently there is not much of a coordination among the various State-run agencies engaged in the development activities in Mumbai. However, BMC’s former standing committee chairman and current Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale was swift in opposing the move and charging that it was a part of well-knit to plan to take Mumbai out of Maharashtra.
“The move to create the CEO’s post is nothing but a ploy to carve Mumbai out of Maharashtra. let’s face it, BMC comes under the Urban Development Ministry, a portfolio that the chief minister himself holds. It is the CM who appoints the BMC Commissioner. Now by deciding to appoint a CEO, he is displaying his lack of confidence in the BMC Commissioner. Even in the past the State Government had reduced the number of posts in the BMC and set up agencies like the MMRDA, SRA Redevelopment Authority and Mithi River Authority. As a result the strength of officials in the BMC has gone down drastically. That being case, the decision to appoint to CEO for Mumbai is unjustified and the move smacks the BJP’s hidden agenda,” Shewale said.
“Under the Disaster Management Act, the State chief secretary is the nodal officer who co-ordinates the mitigation activities with the BMC in the event of any calamities befalling Mumbai. In that sense, the State Government has already a role to play in the running of BMC” Shewale said.
BJP’s Mumbai president Ashish Shelar, who in the past a senior elected representative in the BMC, took a strong exception to the Sena’s opposition to Fadnavis’ move to appoint a CEO for Mumbai.
The main objective behind the Chief Minister’s move to appoint a CEO for Mumbai is to extend helping hand to the BMC and other agencies in the development of Mumbai. If the Chief Minister himself is facilitating the speedy development of Mumbai, why there should be an objection from the Shiv Sena to the CEO’s post. It is rather improper on Shewale’s part to air views without trying to comprehend as to what the new Chief Minister has in mind.
“Secondly, the Chief Minister has not at any stage spoken about a move to carve Mumbai out of Mumbai. If anything Shewale and Shiv Sena are merely using the CEO issue to derive political mileage and create atmosphere of confusion among the people. By appointing the CEO, no effort is being made by either the State Government or the BJP to undermine the authority of the BMC,” Shelar said.