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The Chosen City Father

Punekars rally in support of Arun Bhatia after his arbitrary transfer as municipal commissioner

Yet Bhatia's no demolition man like Khairnar. He's merely a tough, law-implementing bureaucrat. In his 30-year career, Bhatia-an alumnus of Delhi's St Stephen's College and the Cambridge University-has been transferred 26 times, 22 of these transfers ordered by various Congress regimes. But it's the Pune demolitions that have cast him in the role of a hero. Overnight, Punekars have gathered to pledge their support for him, even as chief minister Narayan Rane and his chief secretary look on helplessly. Special websites have sprung up where responses are pouring in from Finland, the US and the Gulf. The city itself is plastered with posters proclaiming Bhatia lao, Poona Bachao and We want the return of Bhatia as Pune municipal commissioner.

It was on March 6 that Bhatia became Pune's municipal commissioner from being its divisional commissioner. A week later, he was transferred as director of the Yeshwantrao Chavan Institute for Development Training. Again, on March 19, he was transferred as the director of the Bombay archives.

A much-embarrassed government is now hard put to provide credible reasons for these seemingly arbitrary moves. It was obviously the sos from Pune's rich and powerful that prompted its action. But the government says it was displeased over the frank letters Bhatia wrote as divisional commissioner to the chief secretary over corruption in land acquisition for the Rs 300 crore Krishna Valley dam project. One such letter found its way to the press and Bhatia was accused of leaking it.

It's difficult to make that claim stick, given that Bhatia has in his short tenure gone completely by the book. Also, the leak of his correspondence with the chief secretary can be cited as a reason only once, not each time Bhatia is transferred-in this case, twice in two weeks.

Bhatia's successor Girish Pradhan is under pressure to continue his predecessor's good work. Few doubt his enthusiasm for demolitions, except that Pradhan seems to be targeting smaller, less influential groups, even if one of them includes former minister Shashikant Sutar. Bhatia, on the other hand, distinguished between the rich and poor. "I'd never demolish a slum, at least not without making alternative arrangements for its dwellers," says he. "People who occupy 20 sq ft of space are different from you or me. There has to be relativity in the seriousness of crime, between my stealing money and a beggar stealing a loaf of bread. I've often prevented the demolition of jhopadpattis. But why should you wish to rehabilitate a disco owner?"

Nevertheless, slum clearance-after rehabilitating its dwellers-remains Bhatia's first priority. Health, sanitation and water supply follow. Isn't there a contradiction here? "I don't want to be known as a demolition man," Bhatia stresses. "I'd rather be known for settling farmers' grievances against talatis." Right now, he's known for his all-too-frequent transfers. Among them:

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  • from social welfare secretary after less than a year for detecting and reporting corruption in the employment exchange;
  • from managing director of the Maharashtra Cooperative Marketing Federation where he lodged an fir against the Cooperation department secretary for sale of gunny bags below the market rate;
  • from Alibag Collector for prohibiting the operations of the local mla who had obtained large tracts of land on government lease for use as salt pans at the cost of cultivable land of many villages;
  • from Bombay Collector for detecting real estate frauds and corruption in the false modifications made in maps of Bombay city to gain illegal advantage under the Urban Land Ceiling Act;
  • from Dhulia Collector for detecting large-scale corruption in the Employment Guarantee Scheme;
  • from Food and Drug Administration Commissioner for detecting violation of the Drugs Act by pharma companies-cases upheld by the High court subsequently.

    Throughout his career, Bhatia has tried to prevent those with political and financial clout from bending the laws. For many Punekars his actions symbolise the fight against corruption. And Bhatia is overwhelmed by their response. Earlier he was humiliated into accepting this "demotion posting". Now he'd be nothing else but the Pune municipal commissioner for the year of service that's left to him. "I owe it to the Punekars," says he. Meanwhile, the premises he demolished last week are being rebuilt quietly.

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