Ashwini Bhide Appointed Mumbai’s First Woman BMC Chief. Who Is She?

Senior IAS officer Ashwini Bhide has been appointed as the new Municipal Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), becoming the first woman to hold the post.

Who Is Ashwini Bhide?

Bhide, a 1995-batch IAS officer, is known for her role in infrastructure development and is widely referred to as the “Metro Woman.” She is considered a trusted aide of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and was most recently serving as Additional Chief Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office.

She replaces outgoing commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who retired on March 31. Her appointment was finalised after discussions between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Ashwini Bhide’s Administrative Career

Ashwini Bhide began her career in Kolhapur as an Assistant District Collector and later served as Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishads in Sindhudurg and Nagpur. Over her nearly three-decade-long career, she has held key positions such as Additional Divisional Commissioner, Joint Secretary to the Governor, and Additional Commissioner at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

She also served as Secretary in the School Education and Sports Department.

In 2015, Bhide was appointed Managing Director of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, where she led the development of Metro Line 3 (Aqua Line), earning recognition for her work on the project.

Since December 2024, she had been serving as Principal Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office before taking charge as BMC Commissioner.