(This story originally appeared in on Nov 07, 2014)

MUMBAI: Mumbai may soon have a chief executive officer. An officer of the rank of additional chief secretary, just below the chief secretary, will be appointed as coordinator for Mumbai, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday. Mumbai has been losing out on development as agencies work at cross-purposes, often to the detriment of the citizens. The CM had told TOI the day he was sworn in (Oct 31) that such a CEO would be his government's priority.The BJP government has taken other significant decisions. It will not extend the terms of over 100 agriculture produce marketing committees, including the Vashi APMC, the state's biggest. The move to enforce early elections in these APMCs will be a big political blow to Congress and NCP's grassroots network. Fadnavis said the Chhatrapati Shivaj memorial in the Arabian Sea would get the Centre's environmental clearance within a week. He also affirmed that the Right to Services Bill would be placed in the legislature either during the winter session or in March.Elaborating on the concept of a CEO, Fadnavis said the officer would be posted at Mantralaya. The idea is that an officer of the rank of additional chief secretary will not only ensure a proper chain of command but also see that no egos are bruised, which would again do more harm than good for the city.There are at least 16 agencies that are active in Mumbai. Besides the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation , which is the planning authority for the city, there is the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which is also a special planning authority for areas such as the Bandra-Kurla Complex, Oshiwara, Nariman Point, the airport area, etc. Then there is the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority, Defence, Railways, Mumbai Port Trust, to name a few."This is an idea we have been pursuing for the last few years. You need an officer who can be held accountable and who will think about Mumbai 24x7. Right now we have only an empowered committee under the chief secretary. The officer could be like an advisor to the chief minister on matters pertaining to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region,'' said Narinder Nayar, chairman, Bombay First.The CM added that he would study the problems of multi-agency coordination before finalizing the job scope and profile of the officer.An officer of the rank of additional chief secretary will coordinate between the city's multiple agencies and streamline various developmental workExtension of 100 APMCs will be scrapped; they will have to hold fresh elections soonEco clearance for offshore Shivaji statue expected in a weekRight to Services legislation in the works