AHMEDABAD: He is fondly called ‘Dada’ by his peers and residents of Ghatlodia and Memnagar. In the seven years between 2010 and 2017 — five years as standing committee chairman Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and two years as AUDA chairman — Bhupendra Patel came to be known for his ability to pacify standoffs between the bureaucracy and the civic body’s elected wing.
In 2010, soon after being elected as a councillor from Thaltej, he was elevated as AMC standing committee chairman. Back then, Ahmedabad was projected as the model for Gujarat’s progress by the then CM Narendra Modi. This was based on the implementation of Rs 2,700 crore worth of Jnnurm projects, Rs 1,100-crore BRTS project, the two phases of Rs 1,200-crore Sabarmati riverfront and social housing for weaker sections and last, but not the least, Ahmedabad’s entry into the Unesco’s tentative list of world heritage cities in 2011.
"I remember him as an excellent negotiator between executive and elected wings of the AMC. He brought to the table a practical approach to dealing with people, budgets, and policy-making. It was a privilege working with him," says former municipal commissioner and Lokpal member I P Gautam.
This led the BJP to continue with him as AMC chairman for four consecutive terms — the first in the history of AMC. His negotiating mettle was tested when development works in the newly acquired areas of new west zone — Prahladnagar, Bodakdev, Thaltej, Gota, Ghatlodia, Sarkhej, Sola and Jodhpur — were undertaken especially while new roads and drainage lines were being laid.
In 2012, Patel won the then CM Narendra Modi’s appreciation when he suggested three consecutive impact fee cuts to popularise the building regularising scheme. "He was also the force behind enrolling several societies under PPP scheme for concretising private society roads and reparing street lights," says AMC councillor and water supply committee chairman Jatin Patel.
Between 2015 and 2017 as AUDA chairman, Bhupendra Patel was pivotal in pushing forward several infrastructure projects, which includes flyovers, roads in Sanand and Bopal as well as infrastructure projects which helped BJP in the 2017 elections.
