``What happens to the official vehicle and the Mayor's bungalow? Should I vacate it right away?'' was the first question Satam asked his aides when he learnt that the notification dismissing the one-year-old Mayor-in-Council (MiC) system had arrived from Mantralaya. It was 3.30 pm - time when most BMC employees order their last cup of tea and start waiting for the clock to strike five.

Urgent calls were made to Urban Development Secretary K Nandlal to clear the confusion. The answer was reassuring - Satam will continue to be the care-taker Mayor till a new one is elected. And till such time, he can continue to use the official car and the bungalow.

With the travel home taken care of, it was time for retrospection. ``We could have shown results ifgiven just three more months. All our plans would have fructified by then,'' he rued. But, he said, the MiC system would be remembered for several good works initiated by it. The effort to bring about a uniform property tax system in the city and suburbs would be credited to the MiC. ``The present system of property tax is full of discrepancies. We sought to bring in one formula whereby the common man can calculate his tax and pay it accordingly. The administration and the ruling party will have to take the process ahead from here,'' he said.

The Mayor said he had hoped to give a surplus budget but now he had no clue how it would be achieved.

The opportunity was also used to make up with the bureaucracy, with which Satam's relations were never cordial. ``It is wrong to blame them directly. Some of them were acting within their own rights,'' he said.

He lauded the efforts of Joint Municipal Commissioner Ajay Mehta whose induction into BMC he described as a ``boon'' to the municipal corporation. Severaldecisions taken with regard to the Improvements Committee were followed up efficiently, he said, and added: ``I am sure with his foresight and guidance octroi collections can be stepped up and target reached.''Other members of the MiC too spent the afternoon collecting their belongings. Roads Committee Chairperson Suhasini Parab was heard instructing an aide on how to pack her exquisite flower vase so that it doesn't get damaged in the transit. Well, she knows the Mumbai roads, doesn't she?

The curtain has finally fallen on the one-year-old Mayor-in-Council system with the state government sending a notification to this effect to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation today. The notification sent by Urban Development Secretary K Nandlal stated that the system has been scrapped with effect from April 23.

The letter addressed to Municipal Commissioner Girish Gokhale has directed him to hold elections and elect a new Mayor within seven days from the date of receiving the notification. Accordingly, MunicipalSecretary Sudha Khire today declared that the election will be held on April 29.

Earlier, Khire had announced election for the post of speaker and deputy speaker on April 24 because even though the bill to scrap the MiC was cleared by both Houses in the Assembly, the BMC had not received a notification to this effect. However, the election was called off after the notification was received by the municipal secretary this afternoon. The Mayor's post this time is reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates. Also, the candidate must have been elected as a corporator from a ward reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The three names of prospective candidates of Shiv Sena doing the rounds are Sada Sarvankar from Dadar, Vijay Daruwala from Borivli and Hareshwar Patil from Dahisar. Among the three Sarvankar seems to be the favourite, with word already around that his name has been cleared by Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Daruwala is likely to be elected as the leader of the House.