BMC merges health, sanitation with revenue; who will citizens hold accountable?

Bhopal: For the first time, Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has merged health and sanitation with revenue and property‑tax duties at the assembly‑constituency level, shifting responsibility for public health to constituency CMOs and reshaping how services will be delivered and overseen.BMC commissioner Sanskriti Jain’s order, issued late Saturday, also reallocates departments and reshuffles charges from additional commissioner down to sub=engineer, naming officers on deputation to key roles and reassigning 11 engineers across zones.BMC additional commissioner Abhishek Singh will be nodal officer for CM Infrastructure, SDRF, road repair and encroachment, and Huzur constituency affairs, while deputy commissioner Bhuvan Gupta takes building permissions, the colony cell and fire and disaster management, and will oversee Govindpura constituency.BMC assistant commissioners Vijay Tiwari and Priyanka Singh are now responsible for sanitation, health, revenue and property tax in North, South‑West and Central constituencies respectively, integrating public‑health oversight with local revenue functions.Superintending Engineer Santosh Gupta will manage the Projects Wing, Lake Conservation Cell, Swachh Bharat Mission, gardens and MPLAD projects. Hirendra Singh Kushwaha will assist on Swachh Bharat Mission tasks.

The engineering cadre has been reshuffled: Sub‑Engineer Henry Thakur joins the Swachh Bharat Mission branch, and 11 engineers — including Pradeep Jadiya, Nishant Tiwari and Kavita Soni — have been redeployed as building officers, inspectors and civil‑works supervisors.The reorganisation follows four days of internal deliberations and coincides with 18 officers being relieved to serve in other districts. The key public‑interest question is whether this merger will improve coordination and accountability for sanitation and health services at the constituency level or dilute specialised oversight — and how residents will be informed about where to seek redress.