India, Sept. 11 -- After the spate of irregularities and corruption cases in the smaller municipal corporations, including those of former Mira-Bhayander commissioner Dilip Dhole and former Vasai-Virar commissioner Anil Pawar, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the urban development department to change the rules so that only IAS officers are appointed as commissioners of the state's 29 municipal corporations.

A few years ago, the department of personnel and training (DoPT), governed by the union home ministry, had notified 14 municipal corporations to be headed by IAS-cadre officers, among these Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Kalyan-Dombivali and Vasai-Virar. Despite this diktat, however, the state government has been...