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HomeIndiaGovernanceFearless, efficient IAS officer Ashwini Bhide moved out of Mumbai Metro in...

Fearless, efficient IAS officer Ashwini Bhide moved out of Mumbai Metro in ‘routine’ change

Ashwini Bhide had vehemently fought to implement Aarey shed project, which pitted her against green activists & Aaditya Thackeray. Ranjit Singh Deol is new MMRC MD.

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Mumbai: Ashwini Bhide, the Maharashtra civil servant who took on Aaditya Thackeray in the Shiv Sena’s fight to take the Metro Rail car shed out of the sylvan Aarey Colony, was transferred out of her post by the Maharashtra government Tuesday evening. 

Bhide was the managing director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) and has been replaced by 1998 batch IAS officer Ranjit Singh Deol. She is yet to be given her new department.  

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray heads the general administration department that handles the transfers of civil servants and other Mantralaya officials.  

Bhide’s tenure at MMRC was mired in controversy as she fought tooth and nail to implement the car shed project. She shot to limelight after 2,141 trees were cut down in Aarey in one October night after the Bombay High Court lifted the stay on cutting down trees for the car shed. 

Environment activists, joined by Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray, had protested and slammed her for being adamant on implementation of the project. Later, when the trees were felled, Bhide faced a barrage of accusations levelled at her by the activists.

The 33.5-km underground metro project connecting various parts of Mumbai through the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz route had faced numerous hurdles at various stages. Under Bhide, the Rs 30,000-crore project had completed evacuation work on 13 out of the 26 underground stations. The remaining work is expected to be completed by May this year.     

After the Maha Vikas Aghadi government took over, the chief minister had ordered a stay on the construction of the car shed in Aarey Colony. He constituted a four-member committee to look into an alternative site for the car shed.

‘Fearless’ civil servant

Known as an efficient civil servant, Bhide is considered to be close to former chief minister and incumbent leader of the opposition Devendra Fadnavis. Though the Shiv Sena was a part of the alliance government led by Fadnavis, the party opposed the car shed project within Aarey Colony. 

Those who have worked with Bhide say she is a fearless officer who won’t think twice before taking on the powerful. 

An Arts student, her first brush with infrastructure development was when she was appointed at the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA). Coming from a non-engineering background, Bhide learnt the ropes by looking at files and interactions with her team, sources said.

The government claimed that the transfer is routine.  

“She has completed nearly four years on her present post. According to service rules, bureaucrats are transferred after three years in a particular department. This is a routine transfer as per the rules,” Additional Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte told ThePrint. “Ranjit Singh Deol, who is replacing Ashwini Bhide, is also an able officer.” 

Kunte confirmed that Bhide is yet to get her posting. “The new posting will be announced soon,” he said.


Also read: People behind #SaveAarey & how they’ve become a ‘big nuisance’ for Mumbai’s metro dreams


A senior officer 

This 1995-batch IAS officer, who topped her batch, is from Sangli in western Maharashtra. 

In a career spanning two decades, Bhide has worked as the chief executive officer at the Nagpur Zilla Parishad, additional divisional commissioners, joint secretary to the Maharashtra governor, additional metropolitan commissioner in MMRDA and secretary in the school education and sports department. She has predominantly worked in rural Maharashtra and was posted at Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, Sindhudurg and Nagpur. 

Sources in the know call her a hands-on officer who would often spend time at the work sites through the night. Her husband Santosh Bhide was also an IAS officer but he quit the service in 2011. 


Also read:Aaditya Thackeray speaks up against cutting trees for Metro depot, a pet project of ally BJP


 

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