MUMBAI: Ashwini Bhide, a 1995-batch IAS officer, has been appointed as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner. Bhide will be the first woman to head Asia's largest and richest civic body.
Bhide will take over charge from outgoing BMC chief Bhushan Gagrani, who retires today after a two-year term. Four senior-most IAS officers -- Asim Gupta, Sanjay Mukerjee, Milind Mhaiskar, and Ashwini Bhide -- were in the race for the top post of the BMC. Bhide, who is considered close to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, was seen as the frontrunner for the post. Bhide is currently Additional Chief Secretary in the Chief Minister's Office.
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was pushing for Aseem Gupta, while CM Fadnavis was in favour of Ashwini Bhide. Fadnavis and Shinde held a closed-door meeting on Monday and later Ashwini Bhide met Shinde at his office.
Ashwini Bhide, who hails from Sangli district in Maharashtra, holds a postgraduate degree in English literature and an MBA. She achieved an All India Rank - 9 in the recruitment exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission and topped among women candidates.
Bhide started her administrative career as the assistant collector of Kolhapur. She was later appointed as the CEO of Sindhudurg Zila Parishads and Nagpur Zilla Parishad.
She was also Deputy Secretary to the Governor before her stint as Additional Metropolitan Commissioner with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. She has also been the BMC's Additional Commissioner.
Bhide is recognised for leading infrastructure projects such as the Mumbai Metro Line 3. One of the most contentious parts of the project was a proposed car shed at Aarey Colony, which triggered opposition from environmentalists.
Bhide worked as the managing director of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited between 2015 and 2020, playing a decisive role in implementing the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ line.
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawade welcomed the decision of appointing Ashwini Bhide as BMC's first woman chief. She said the move reflected respect for Nari Shakti, adding that with her being the city's first citizen and with Ashwini Bhide as the first woman BMC Commissioner, they would jointly advance a vision for a smart and clean Mumbai.
Earlier, IPS officer Rashmi Shukla was appointed as the state police chief, while Sujata Saunik took charge as Chief Secretary. The appointment of Ashwini Bhide as BMC Commissioner is seen as another step towards placing women officers in key administrative roles.