Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday removed Sitaram Kunte as the municipal commissioner, replacing him with IAS officer Ajoy Mehta.
Kunte, (batch of 1985), whose term as the BMC chief was due to end on April 30, was transferred as Principal Secretary of Environment Department, a position held by Mehta until Sunday.
According to reports, the chief minister took the decision before leaving for a visit to Israel.
Shiv Sena was reportedly unhappy with Kunte over the issue of Mumbai Development Plan. However, reports also suggest that the appointment have been made considering 2017 BMC elections.
Mehta is an IAS officer of the 1984 batch. In the 1990s, he was the joint municipal commissioner in the BMC. He has also served as Collector of Ahmednagar District and Municipal Commissioner of Nashik.
Recently, in the wake of strong objections, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had scrapped the controversial proposed draft of development plan (DP) - 2034 Mumbai. The state government has ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to prepare a new Development Plan.
