He hardly had the time to settle down after taking charge, as President Droupadi Murmu was to arrive in the city for her three-day tour to Vidarbha. Chaudhari had to hustle-up and leave for the airport. During the brief interaction, the new Municipal Commissioner, who also has the charge of Administrator, indicated that as primary necessities are in place, the administration now has to iron out the anomalies and upgrade the services. While setting the agenda, one cannot escape the reality that basic amenities need to be properly provided. Only then will the benefits of big ticket projects trickle down, he added. Further, Chaudhari observed that Nagpur is leading when the features of a 'Smart City' are considered. Therefore, there will be an effort to provide innovative, quality facilities to the citizens. A clean, beautiful, and healthy Nagpur will be a reality. Dr Chaudhari also said that he will make every effort to change the face of the city. Commissioner and Administrator with administrative experience in various parts of the State, the IAS officer also mentioned that there will always be efforts to give a new face of development to the city.

 

To a question, the young IAS officer said, there is no burden while serving in city having towering leaders; Nagpur is home town of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari: rather it helps in drawing upon their rich experience and charting out development strategy for next Millennia. Innovative ideas, suggestions from common citizens, public representatives will be welcomed and acted upon. There are both advantages and disadvantages as Municipal Commissioner or rather as Administrator, the key is to find the common ground and take steps for overall increasing efficiency and delivery of services, Dr Chaudhari averred. Care will be taken to ensure quality in any project and work.

 

Earlier, Dr Chaudhari was welcomed by Collector Dr Vipin Itankar who handed over the charge of Municipal Commissioner and Administrator to him. Simultaneously, he also took over additional charge of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL), from Ajay Gulhane. After taking over the reins of Municipal Commissioner and Administrator, NMC, Dr Abhijeet Chaudhari, interacted with civic body officials. Officials gave a brief idea about the NMC and its working and Branch Heads introduced themselves. During the brief interaction, Municipal Commissioner and Administrator said he would take detailed review of respective department in time to come and directed everyone to remain prepared for briefing.

 

On this occasion Chief Engineer Rajeev Gaikwad, Deputy Commissioners Nirbhay Jain, Suresh Bagle, Milind Meshram and Prakash Varade; Superintending Engineer Manoj Talewar; Executive Engineer Shweta Banerjee; Chief Accounts & Finance Officer Sadashiv Shelke; Head of Information and Technology Department Mahesh Dhamecha; Deputy Director, Town Planning, Pramod Gawande; NMC's Secretary Dr Ranjana Lade; Executive Engineer Ajay Mankar, Chief Fire Officer In Charge B P Chandankhede; Executive Engineer Ravindra Bundhade; Park Superintendent Amol Chourpagar; Education Officer Rajendra Pusekar; Executive Engineer Kamlesh Chavan, Assistant Commissioners Ganesh Rathod and Harish Raut; Chief Auditor Yogini Thakur; Public Relations Officer (PRO) Manish Soni and other were present at the meeting.