Mumbai, Mar 31 (PTI) Senior IAS officer Ashwini Bhide was on Tuesday appointed as the first woman commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), an official said.

She will take charge from Bhushan Gagrani, who retires on Tuesday, the official said.

The Mumbai civic body, set up in 1872, is one of the oldest local self-governing bodies in India.

Bhide, a 1995 batch IAS officer was the Additional Chief Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office and has handled many key infrastructure projects.

An official notification said she will also continue holding charge as Managing Director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, where she was instrumental in expansion of the city’s metro network. PTI VT VT