Pratibha Pal: The Inspiring Municipal Commissioner

Image Source: Free Press Journal

Pratibha Pal, the former municipal commissioner of Indore, has been a committed officer known to many in the administrative circle. However, her dedication to her work became public knowledge when she returned to her duty just 11 days after giving birth to a baby boy in January 2021. What is more impressive is that she had not taken any maternity leave and had worked till an hour before her labor pain started.

Pal has many achievements to her credit as municipal commissioner of Indore, but she will mostly be remembered for her role in the establishment of South Asia’s largest Bio-CNG plant at the trenching ground in Devguradia. The plant was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was set up by a
company without charging a penny from Indore Municipal Corporation. IMC earns a significant amount from the plant, which has a capacity of producing 17 to 18 tonnes of CNG every day from the waste, along with 100 tonnes of organic manure.

Pal also ensured that the city continued to bag the cleanest city tag without any hassle. She spearheaded the segregation of six types of waste at source, and around six wards became zero-waste wards in the city. These and some other measures ensured that the city retained its cleanest tag for the fifth and sixth
time in a row. However, Pal was transferred to Rewa collector a month before she completed three years in Indore, just as the city was gearing up for Swachhta Survekshan-2023 for clinching the tag for the seventh consecutive time.

Staff Reporter