Girinath waited 40 mins before taking charge as BBMP chief

New BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath had to wait 40 minutes to receive charge from outgoing chief Gaurav Gupta, as the informal handing-over ceremony had to be postponed thrice at the BBMP headquarters.

Not finding Gupta as he arrived, Girinath, a 1993-batch IAS officer, went around garlanding the statues of Dr B R Ambedkar and Kannada film icon Dr Rajkumar.

Having waited at the hall and seated for 10 minutes at the commissioner’s office, Girinath seemed visibly upset and asked his IAS colleagues about the whereabouts of Gupta, appointed Additional Chief Secretary, Infrastructure Department. At one point, he was heard saying “his time was important, too”.

But when Gupta arrived, both men were all smiles while exchanging the reins of the city administration. The sudden shunting from the coveted position must have irked Gupta, who took charge exactly a year ago.

Monsoon prep top priority

After taking charge, Girinath told a press conference that preparing for the forthcoming monsoon is his top priority. “We’ll come up with short-term measures to reduce problems caused by the rain.”

“A lot of work has already been done. I’ll focus on the work in the pipeline. We’ll ensure complaints are attended to immediately. The larger goal is to reduce complaints,” Girinath added.

The BBMP is closer to people and must serve their daily needs, he observed. “Whatever we do, the reactions or implications are immediate”.

Girinath assured the BBMP will continue to work closely with the ward committees since they represent people’s concerns. “We require their help in execution and planning of many projects,” he said.

Assures transparency

Speaking to DH, the new chief commissioner assured to bring transparency and accountability in the system in the wake of the 40% commission allegation. “Speedy disposal of bills by paying on time and transparency will make people understand how the system works. Once people know the system, the allegations will have negligible impact,” he said.

Girinath also assured to sort out the messed up zonal classifications that made citizens pay more taxes than necessary.