Muzaffarpur: Rituraj Pratap Singh assumed charge as the new municipal commissioner of Muzaffarpur on Tuesday, ending a month-long vacancy in the key civic post. He formally took charge from deputy municipal commissioner Amit Kumar and said his main aim would be to make the city clean, healthy and more beautiful. Speaking after assuming office, Singh said that development works would be completed on time and that complaints raised by public representatives would be taken seriously and resolved without delay.
Soon after taking charge, the new commissioner held a formal meeting with mayor Nirmala Devi, who welcomed him with a bouquet. Several councillors were also present and greeted Singh, expressing hope that stalled civic works would now move forward. After the meeting, Singh inspected different branches of the municipal office and interacted with employees, introducing himself and reviewing the functioning of various departments. Officials said this was meant to help him quickly understand the ground situation and ongoing issues.
Later in the day, Singh visited the Integrated Command and Control Centre at Company Bagh, where he also took charge as managing director of the Muzaffarpur Smart City Company. He inspected the control centre and reviewed the monitoring systems in place for the city. The post of municipal commissioner had remained vacant after the transfer of Vikram Virkar, and several important decisions and projects were pending during this period.
The new commissioner now faces several major challenges. He will need to implement long-pending decisions taken by the municipal corporation board and the empowered standing committee. These include a Rs 13.67 crore plan for the development of the municipal auditorium and a Rs 2.62 crore project for the renovation of Ghirni Pokhar. An AI-based smart surveillance system announced earlier will also have to be implemented, along with the completion of toilet construction projects worth Rs 3.86 crore aimed at improving sanitation in the city.
In addition, large-scale projects under national schemes require urgent attention. Under the National Clean Ganga Mission-2, work to treat the water of Fardo Nala at a cost of Rs 77.40 crore for commercial use must be completed. The administration also plans to build a material recovery facility with a capacity of 50 tonnes per day to strengthen solid waste management. Completing the remaining Smart City projects and implementing the Cities 2.0 scheme will be key tasks for Singh as he begins his tenure, with residents expecting visible improvements in civic services and urban infrastructure.
