MUMBAI: Six administrative wards in Mumbai, including the high-profile A Ward, are currently functioning without full-time ward officers. The wards in question have acting ward officials, primarily senior engineers, filling in temporarily who often lack formal administrative training, leading to growing concern within civic circles over delayed decision-making and compromised supervision.
The issue is compounded by acute staff shortages in crucial departments such as roads, bridges and the coastal road, where key posts, including those of chief engineer, deputy chief engineer, and executive engineer are vacant. Engineers across departments are now handling dual roles, which is allegedly impacting work quality.
The absence of full-time leadership came under sharp scrutiny on Sunday after former BJP corporator Makarand Narwekar raised the issue in a letter to BMC chief and administrator, Bhushan Gagrani. Narwekar highlighted that A ward (Fort-Colaba-Cuffe Parade) has not had a dedicated ward officer for over two years and has Jaideep More from the planning department handling the crucial position.
The other five wards without full-time ward officers are C ward (Marine Lines) E ward (Byculla), R South ward (Kandivali West) R North ward (Dahisar West) and S ward (Bhandup). These are being temporarily handled by Sanjay Ingle (who was earlier with the roads and bridges department), Rohit Trivedi, Manish Salve, Naynish Vengurlekar and Alka Sasane respectively.
Narwekar also accused the BMC of stalling ₹116 crore worth of sanctioned development work in the area, blaming an “inexperienced A ward administration” and the “high-handed approach” of the additional municipal commissioner (city). He alleged that key civic, heritage, and tourism-related projects were being neglected, creating what he described as an “anti-Colaba sentiment” within the administration. The former corporator demanded the immediate appointment of a full-time ward officer and the fast-tracking of long-pending works.
The BMC, however, pushed back against the claims, suggesting that Narwekar himself had contributed to the delay. “This shooting off of letters to the BMC commissioner every now and then is an eyewash by Makarand Narwekar,” said a senior civic official. “Jaideep More’s transfer has, in fact, been stalled by him several times. He blocks the transfer and then pretends to protest against it by writing to the civic chief. It’s just an act and shouldn’t be taken seriously.”
Meanwhile, civic activists have raised an alarm about the impact of these staffing gaps on Mumbai’s infrastructure. “There’s an acute staff shortage in the roads and bridges department despite massive projects worth thousands of crores,” RTI activist Kamlakar Shenoy told HT. “This is a serious lapse. Why is Uttam Shrote burdened with three key roles—deputy chief engineer (Bridges), chief engineer (Bridges), and chief engineer (coastal road)? The neglect is affecting work quality and causing public loss. Just look at the substandard work on P D’Mello Road and the mastic-covered Eastern Freeway.”
Civic chief Bhushan Gagrani, when contacted, told HT that Shrote was currently the acting chief engineer (Bridges) and was due for promotion soon, so there was no concern on that front. The larger issue, he said, was the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC)’s delaying of appointments, which resulted in a court battle with the civic body. “We took it all the way to the Supreme Court, a first for the BMC,” said Gagrani. “I personally wrote five letters and convinced the MPSC to act. After we won the case, we appointed ward officers from the first list. They are currently undergoing training, which will conclude in a week, after which they’ll be ready for postings.”