THANE: Balaji Khatgaonkar, a Class I officer of the state government, has joined the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) as a Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DMC) from last week onwards on deputation for a period of one year. The DMC has been handed over the charge of the vexed Solid Waste Management (SWM) department for the time being.
Civic sources informed Thane Plus that the new DMC is the fourth officer from the state cadre to take over as DMC in TMC service on deputation basis. Besides him Dr BG Pawar, the DMC in charge of anti-encroachment as well as advertisement departments, MB Patil, the DMC, TMC headquarters, and Venkatesh Bhat, the DMC in charge of octroi collection department, are also from the state cadre. DMC Bhat is, however, on way out as he has been summoned back to the state cadre.
Three remaining DMCs in the corporation are from the civic cadre itself. They include Dr Sudhir Bhatankar, the DMC in charge of garden department, as well as Prabhuraj Nimbargi, the DMC in charge of municipal establishment department, and Srikant Sarmokdam, the DMC in-charge of SWM. The new DMC has been given the charge of SWM in place of Sarmokdam.
As a routine bureaucratic exercise the TMC has sought the approval of the General Body (GB) House of this month to confirm the appointment of Khatgaonkar in TMC service as DMC for one year. The GB is likely to place its sign and seal on the appointment on deputation for one year.
Meanwhile, Sarmokdam has been elevated to the post of Additional Municipal Commissioner (Addl MC) and has been given the charge of the Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) as new Transport Manager (TM). This post had been lying vacant for more than six months now after the return of Ashok Karanjkar, the then TM to his parent posting with the state government.
The promotion of Sarmokdam is, however, ad hoc in nature and is subject to the approval of first the GB House and then the state Urban Development Department. The civic bureaucracy was compelled to promote the DMC to the post of Addl MC as the corporation had only six Urban Development Department sanctioned posts of DMCs. With the induction of Khatgaonkar, the number was to rise up to seven.
Sarmokdam is the third Addl MC in civic cadre now. LR Gupta, the Addl MC is the first one in this regard. He is on deputation to the TMC form the state government since more than a year ago. The GB House subsequently promoted the post of KD Lalla, the City Engineer to that of Addl MC. The promotion of the CE is also on ad hoc basis and the state has so far not given sanction to the post.
courtesy
: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
