The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra government to appoint Bhushan Gagrani, currently serving as the Additional Chief Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office, as the new Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). On Wednesday evening, the veteran IAS officer, Bhushan Gagrani was appointed as the new Commissioner of BMC. Mr. Gagrani took over from Iqbal Singh Chahal.
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Mr. Gagrani is a 1990 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service and also the first Chartered Officer (IAS) in the country to secure an All India third rank with Marathi language. He holds Master of Commerce and Master of Arts in History from Shivaji University, Kolhapur; Bachelor of Laws degree from Nagpur University, Master’s Degree in Management from the University of Birmingham in London and a Vidyavachaspati (Ph.D) degree in Management from Mumbai University.
After joining the administrative service, Dr. Gagarani worked in the context of land revenue management and district administration, development administration for the first two years. He also worked as Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad), Director of Youth Welfare and Sports Department in Pune, and Collector in Sindhudurg.
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He was later named as the Deputy Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Joint Chief Executive Officer of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, Secretary of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, Secretary of Medical Education and Pharmaceuticals Department, Secretary of Public Health Department, and Chief Executive Officer of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, City and Industrial Development Corporation.
He was also appointed as the Principal Secretary in Chief Minister’s Office and Principal Secretary in Urban Development Department. Before being appointed to the BMC, Bhushan Gagrani was Additional Chief Secretary in Chief Minister’s Office. He was also responsible for the departments of Urban Development, Water Resources and Marathi language.
On Monday, the ECI had written to the Maharashtra state secretary seeking the transfer of the former BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal and some deputy and additional commissioners. The ECI also directed the appointment of IAS officers Saurabh Rao and Kailas Shinde as the Commissioners of Thane and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporations, respectively.