3 min readVadodaraMar 8, 2026 04:20 AM ISTGujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra PatelTHE STATE government on Saturday issued orders appointing administrators to the Municipal Corporations of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar to take over their functioning as the term of the elected bodies of the civic bodies is set to end on March 9 (Monday).The Urban Development and Urban Housing Department of the Gujarat government issued similar orders for the municipal corporations that will see their five-year term coming to an end next week.As per the orders of the state government, Principal Secretary of the Education Department, Mukesh Kumar has been appointed as Administrator of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation while Managing Director of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. (GUVNL) Shalini Agarwal has been appointed as the administrator for Vadodara Municipal Corporation. In Surat, Education Secretary Milind Torwane has been appointed Administrator while Remya Mohan will take charge of the Rajkot civic body and Aarti Kanwar will be the Administrator of Jamnagar. Social Justice and Empowerment Secretary Harshad Patel has been appointed administrator for Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation.Mohan was Rajkot District Collector from 2019 to 2021, while Torwane was Surat Municipal commissioner between 2014 to 2016 and Agarwal was Vadodara Municipal commissioner from 2021 to 2022.The order issued for Vadodara under the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, states that the VMC councillors, chosen by direction election as per the Act in February 2021 are scheduled to complete the stipulated term on March 9, 2026.The order states, “… Section 6B of the said Act provides that the election to constitute a Corporation shall be completed before the expiration of its duration… due to unforeseen circumstances, the election to constitute the VMC could not be completed before the expiry of its duration by the State Election Commission, Gujarat…”The order adds, “Therefore, in exercise of the powers … the Government of Gujarat hereby appoints Ms Shalini Agarwal… as the Administrator of the Municipal Corporation of the City of Vadodara for the period, commencing from March 10, 2026 until the councillors are elected in the first election of the aforesaid Municipal Corporation.”Story continues below this adAgarwal was recently transferred from Surat, where she was the Municipal Commissioner, to the post of MD GUVNL in Vadodara.Senior officials of the state government told this newspaper that the elections are likely to be notified after March 22 at the conclusion of the ongoing Assembly session. “The elections to the civic body were originally meant to be held in December but it was last delayed in 2020-2021 due to the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic. Therefore, it could not be held in December 2020 and was pushed to February 2021… As per the GPMC Act, due to the Disaster Management Act also being in place at that time, the Municipal Commissioners of respective civic bodies were appointed as CEOs instead of appointing fresh administrators. However, since the last election was held in February 2021, the cycle of the civic body polls has now changed…”The official added, “With the delay this year due to the SIR process in the state in February, the elections are now likely to be held in April-end or May first-week. The December schedule of the polls, thus, will now become April-May from hereon.”Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues. Expertise: Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including: Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground. Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure. Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case). Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions. Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Gujarat