The chief minister, who met senior officials of the Urban Development Department (UDD) on Thursday, has asked UDD Secretary K Nandlal to conduct the inquiry and submit a report in two months.

Citizens of Ulhasnagar in Thane district had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court in January, urging it to ``put a stop to the virtual non-governance'' in the civic body since it was upgraded to corporation status. Express Newsline had also highlighted the plight of Ulhasnagar's citizens in a series of reports.

Acknowledging the inquiry, Rane said: ``There was already a growing concern about the breakdown in administration affecting services in the UMC. Once the findings are out, we shall initiate action against all those implicated, irrespective of partyaffiliations.''

Nand Lal told Express Newsline that the inquiry would cover the township's insanitary conditions, unauthorised constructions, the politician-criminal nexus and the involvement of corporators in corruption.''The decision to conduct an inquiry has lifted the spirits of residents, who have born the brunt of the civic breakdown in the township. Says Sarla Makhija, a resident of Camp 3: ``We had grown to accept our misery thinking that the government didn't care. It is good that the government has finally woken up to the fact that we are human and deserve to live as such.''

However, Rajesh Mansukhani, a college student, is cynical about government inquiries. ``Will the guilty be brought to book,'' he asks.