Centre unhappy with ex-BMC chief Praveen Pardeshi, prodded Uddhav Thackeray to oust him

MUMBAI: During the five-year tenure of Devendra Fadnavis, 58-year-old Praveen Pardeshi was the most powerful bureaucrat in the corridors of power. He was the eyes and ears of the CM and played a key role in the decision-making process.
When Pardeshi's predecessor, Ajoy Mehta, completed his tenure as the BMC commissioner, over half a dozen bureaucrats were lobbying for the plum post.Fadnavis, however, chose to appoint his trusted aide Pardeshi to take on the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.
It was believed he would take over the reins of the state bureaucracy on June 30 when Ajoy Mehta's extended term came to an end. However, the Covid-19 outbreak altered the script. With cases rising, the NDA government sent a high-level team to review the preparedness in BMC and a few other civic bodies.
When nothing changed on ground after the team's first visit, the central team made a second visit and found BMC had not taken adequate measures, leading to a spurt in cases. The Centre was concerned India's graph was going up due to Mumbai's rising tally.
The Centre is believed to have conveyed its displeasure over the way things were being handled to the CM and Mehta, following which Pardeshi was shunted out. Sources say Pardeshi lacked consistency in decision making. Besides, he did not keep the government, especially Mehta, in the loop before taking a decision. Pardeshi is the second bureaucrat in the history of BMC who has had to leave unceremoniously.
Singh, Chahal take Covid challenge head on
Top bureaucrats and IPS officials feel at a juncture when Mumbai is the worst-hit by the pandemic, the combination of police commissioner Parambir Singh and municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal is best suited to tackle the challenge.
When it appeared the morale of police personnel was flagging, Parambir Singh went to J J Marg police station, which has the maximum Covid-19 cases among its personnel. He assured the constables that the entire police force was with them and all-out efforts would be made to provide the best medical aid.
Hours after taking over the reins of BMC, Chahal along with a few other bureaucrats visited Nair hospital and interacted with the staff and patients.
His next stop was Dharavi, the biggest hotspot in the metropolis.
Both Singh and Chahal have signalled they are up for the challenge.