Jairaj Moreshwar Phatak, an IAS officer of 1978 batch, served as the 25th municipal commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India from May 2007 to October 2009 and he is known for encyclopedic knowledge and sharp replies. He succeeded Johny Joseph as the Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai in May 2007.

Earlier, he served as the Principal Secretary in Urban Development department of Maharashtra Government. During his tenure as Secretary, school education department was lauded for the efforts he undertook to improve welfare of students.

Significantly, where ever Phatak was posted, as a Collector Nagpur, Municipal Commissioner, Mumbai or managing director of the rural electrification corporation, he made his presence felt. Mr. Phatak retired from service on March 31, 2015 after more than three and a half decades.

Corruption and Imprisonment=

Jairaj Phatak was one of the prime accused in the Adarsh scam in which flats meant for widows of war heroes were mis-allocated. Mr.Phatak's son who is a banker by profession and was allocated one of the apartments allegedly at a fraction of the value of the actual cost of the flat. After several months in jail Mr Phatak was released on bail. The case continues. a