Govt may foist Ulhas back on Chandrashekhar

The government had issued an order on December 1 asking Chandrashekhar to relinquish charge of Ulhasnagar and appointed Rupinder Singh, assistant collector of Nanded, in his place. However, the reflexive backlash this provoked in the township, which experienced two flash strikes by taxi and autorickshaw drivers, and the groundswell of public support for the commissioner have since forced the government on the backfoot.

The decision to divest the commissioner of the additional charge was taken alllegedly at the behest of the local Congress unit, which heads the UMC in alliance with the Republican Party of India and Ulhasnagar People’s Party. With the Congress now holding the reins of the state, the party’s local unit allegedly pressured the state secretariat to recall Chandrashekhar, who was given additional charge of the UMC by the erstwhile Sena-BJP government in July.

Known for his no-nonsense attitude, local politicians feared that the commissioner would wreak havoc on their cosy nexus with the powerful builder lobby that has for years ravaged the township’s face.

Chandrashekhar himself says he is hestiant to hold additional charge of the UMC as bifurcating his jurisdiction would take away from the Integrated Road Development Project (IRDP) being implemented in Thane city. Saying it would be difficult to shuttle between Thane and Ulhasnagar, which are not physically contiguous, He told Express Newsline: “The TMC only recently kicked off Phase-III of the IRDP. Since it is being implemented in places like Mumbra, which are communally sensitive, it is the most difficult phase and merits close monitoring.”

He also says he is overwhelmed by the show of support among the township’s residents. “This makes the prospects for me extremely daunting as Ulhasnagar has never shown any interest in development. The people’s expectations are obviously very high,” says reluctant commissioner.