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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Seventy-six mayors ruled BMC since 1931

After four years, Mumbai to salute its first citizen Kishori Pednekar Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Snehal Ambekar Sunil Prabhu Mumbai: As the date for appointing Mumbai’s First Citizen looms closer, various political parties have adopted tough posturing to foist their own person for the coveted post of Mayor – the ‘face’ of the country’s commercial capital. Ruling Mahayuti allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have vowed that the city...

Seventy-six mayors ruled BMC since 1931

After four years, Mumbai to salute its first citizen Kishori Pednekar Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Snehal Ambekar Sunil Prabhu Mumbai: As the date for appointing Mumbai’s First Citizen looms closer, various political parties have adopted tough posturing to foist their own person for the coveted post of Mayor – the ‘face’ of the country’s commercial capital. Ruling Mahayuti allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have vowed that the city will get a ‘Hindu Marathi’ person to head India’s richest civic body, while the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena also harbour fond hopes of a miracle that could ensure their own person for the post. The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) optimism stems from expectations of possible political permutations-combinations that could develop with a realignment of forces as the Supreme Court is hearing the cases involving the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party this week. Catapulted as the largest single party, the BJP hopes to install a first ever party-man as Mayor, but that may not create history. Way back in 1982-1983, a BJP leader Dr. Prabhakar Pai had served in the top post in Mumbai (then Bombay). Incidentally, Dr. Pai hailed from Udupi district of Karnataka, and his appointment came barely a couple of years after the BJP was formed (1980), capping a distinguished career as a city father, said experts. Originally a Congressman, Dr. Pai later shifted to the Bharatiya Janata Party, then back to Congress briefly, founded the Janata Seva Sangh before immersing himself in social activities. Second Administrator The 2026 Mayoral elections have evoked huge interest not only among Mumbaikars but across the country as it comes after nearly four years since the BMC was governed by an Administrator. This was only the second time in the BMC history that an Administrator was named after April 1984-May 1985. On both occasions, there were election-related issues, the first time the elections got delayed for certain reasons and the second time the polling was put off owing to Ward delimitations and OBC quotas as the matter was pending in the courts. From 1931 till 2022, Mumbai has been lorded over by 76 Mayors, men and women, hailing from various regions, backgrounds, castes and communities. They included Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Sikhs, even a Jew, etc., truly reflecting the cosmopolitan personality of the coastal city and India’s financial powerhouse. In 1931-1932, the Mayor was a Parsi, J. B. Boman Behram, and others from his community followed like Khurshed Framji Nariman (after whom Nariman Point is named), E. A. Bandukwala, Minoo Masani, B. N. Karanjia and other bigwigs. There were Muslims like Hoosenally Rahimtoola, Sultan M. Chinoy, the legendary Yusuf Meherally, Dr. A. U. Memon and others. The Christian community got a fair share of Mayors with Joseph A. D’Souza – who was Member of Constituent Assembly representing Bombay Province for writing-approving the Constitution of India, M. U. Mascarenhas, P. A. Dias, Simon C. Fernandes, J. Leon D’Souza, et al. A Jew Elijah Moses (1937-1938) and a Sikh M. H. Bedi (1983-1984), served as Mayors, but post-1985, for the past 40 years, nobody from any minority community occupied the august post. During the silver jubilee year of the post, Sulochana M. Modi became the first woman Mayor of Mumbai (1956), and later with tweaks in the rules, many women ruled in this post – Nirmala Samant-Prabhavalkar (1994-1995), Vishakha Raut (997-1998), Dr. Shubha Raul (March 2007-Nov. 2009), Shraddha Jadhav (Dec. 2009-March 2012), Snehal Ambedkar (Sep. 2014-March 2017). The last incumbent (before the Administrator) was a government nurse, Kishori Pednekar (Nov. 2019-March 2022) - who earned the sobriquet of ‘Florence Nightingale’ of Mumbai - as she flitted around in her full white uniform at the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic, earning the admiration of the citizens. Mumbai Mayor – high-profile post The Mumbai Mayor’s post is considered a crucial step in the political ladder and many went on to become MLAs, MPs, state-central ministers, a Lok Sabha Speaker, Chief Ministers and union ministers. The formidable S. K. Patil was Mayor (1949-1952) and later served in the union cabinets of PMs Jawaharlal Nehru, Lah Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi; Dahyabhai V. Patel (1954-1955) was the son of India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; Manohar Joshi (1976-1977) became the CM of Maharashtra, later union minister and Speaker of Lok Sabha; Chhagan Bhujbal (1985-1986 – 1990-1991) became a Deputy CM.

‘Traitors of Maratha Empire trump locals’

Rohit Pawar smells Rs 5K-cr land-scam in Navi Mumbai by minister

Mumbai: In an explosive allegation, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit R. Pawar has accused Urban Development Minister Sanjay Shirsat (Shiv Sena) of plotting a land scam of around Rs 5,000-cr intended to benefit a clan that once supported the British against the Maratha Empire.


A grand-nephew of NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar, Rohit Pawar said that the controversial Bivalkar family of Ratnagiri was originally gifted over 4000-acres land by the British rulers for helping them vis-à-vis the Maratha Empire.


Over decades since, under various laws and land reforms, the property was taken over by the state government, but the present title holder, architect Yashwant Bivalkar and his elder brother Gangadhar Bivalkar have locked horns with the authorities.


“However, despite this, the Bivalkar family attempted to reclaim those lands by manipulating records, filing court petitions and political lobbying. Their applications were rejected repeatedly in 1994, 1995, 2010 and 2023. But when Shirsat took over as CIDCO Chairman last year, he made the impossible as possible” claimed Rohit Pawar.


Displaying a bag filled with fake currency notes before media-persons, the NCP (SP) MLA alleged that “this was the style of ‘bag politics’ adopted to seal the deal”, implying cash transactions.


He added that in the very first CIDCO meeting as Chairman, Shirast cleared around 15 acres of prime land (at Ulwe) in Navi Mumbai to the Bivalkar family worth a staggering Rs 5,000-cr, in the vicinity of the new Navi Mumbai International Airport.


“This land parcel was reserved for constructing 10,000 affordable homes for the poor, but now a luxury building project is likely to come up there, sidelining the common masses,” pointed out Rohit Pawar.


Contending that there were several layers to the whole scam, Rohit Pawar said the Bivalkars – got the land gift (inaam) around 1816 - exploited legal loopholes since 1952 to convert a ‘political inaam’ into a ‘personal inaam’ and declaring parts as ‘reserved forest’ to skirt the Land Ceiling Act.


After the Maharashtra Private Forests Act of 1975 transferred the lands to the state, the Bivalkar family fought in the court and in 2014, the Bombay High Court gave a favourable verdict including a compensation amount, ostensibly due to a weak defence by the state, but later the CIDCO secured a stay from the Supreme Court.


“Despite the detailed history of repeated rejections, overlooking the fact that local project-affected farmers are fighting to get their rightful share of 12.5 pc land, the state government chose to hand it over to the descendants of the traitors of the Maratha Empire. This is committing a treachery against Maharashtra’s sons of the soil,” Rohit Pawar thundered.


The sensational allegations sparked widespread political outrage and other Opposition parties demanded an immediate rollback of the land dole to the Bivalkar family and resignation of Minister Shirsat.


Simultaneously Rohit Pawar has threatened to carry out an agitation with farmers and activists at the CIDCO headquarters on Aug. 20 (Wednesday) where they would grill the officialdom over the purported mega-land scandal.

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