A Mumbai bureaucrat who refuses to be taken down – Times of India

BMC administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal is indeed a bold bureaucrat. When the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned him to record his statement in a money laundering case over allotment of a contract for a Covid centre, his colleagues in the bureaucracy believed it would be the end of his career.
Members of the fourth estate floated all types of reports anticipating his arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act before CM Eknath Shinde left for Davos for the prestigious World Economic Forum meet and before Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the city for laying the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 50,000.
It was believed that the CM would give him an insignificant assignment or send him on leave. However, neither was he shunted out nor sent on leave. In fact, all along various events, he was spotted along the CM and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Even after the ED recorded his statement, Chahal didn’t escape the media. He came out of the ED office, addressed an impromptu press conference and replied to all questions raised by the media before leaving. A cabinet member said it was not a summons, and that the ED had called Chahal to secure more information on the Covid jumbo center contract awarded to a close aide of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut. In the past too, Chahal was caught in a series of controversies over allotment of contracts for cement concrete roads and cost of his clothes and the watches he is wearing. On all occasions, Chahal was instant to take on his detractors in bureaucracy and politics. As of now, it appears that Chahal is firm in the saddle.
An honour well deserved: For Pune collector Rajesh Deshmukh, it was a rare honour when President Draupadi Murmu felicitated him for his outstanding contribution to ‘healthy and pure’ electoral rolls in the district comprising four lakh sabhas, 21 assembly seats, and a total voter population of 80 lakh.
Two years ago, the Election Commissioner of India had asked all state chief electoral officers to draft a comprehensive action plan for preparing a ‘healthy and pure’ electoral register by removing duplicate names and those of deceased persons. Soon after taking over the reins of Pune district, Deshmukh embarked on a one-point mission to purify the electoral register.
He mobilized officials of two municipal corporations, 17 urban local bodies, 1,400 gram panchayats and 1,900 villages for the purpose. Deshmukh involved nearly 450 colleges in the district with an emphasis on registration of young voters, and measures were taken to end urban apathy, since in the past, the voting percentage was less than 35 per cent in certain Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies. It was the biggest exercise in the recent past, says Deshmukh. He expects better results, in terms of percentage of voting in the ensuing elections.