Delhi Government Transfers Over 50 Officers Amid Fraud and Fire Safety Probes
Following a fatal fire in Hauz Rani and an ongoing probe into a Rs 350-crore medical procurement fraud, the Delhi government has executed a major administrative reshuffle, transferring over 50 IAS and DANICS officers.
The sweeping changes affect key departments including health, home, and fire services, as well as several district administrations across Delhi.
The reshuffle follows the recent arrest of a doctor by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in connection with a Rs 350-crore fraud involving medicine and medical equipment procurement for government hospitals. The head of the Central Procurement Agency (CPA) was also arrested. In response, Yash Chaudhary, Special Secretary (Health), has been given additional charge of the CPA with delegated financial powers, divesting the Directorate General of Health Services of its head-of-department-level financial powers.
Other key health department changes include the transfer of Special Secretary (Health) Sanjeev Kumar to the Trade and Taxes department as Special Commissioner. Southwest District Magistrate Mekala Chaitanya Prasad will take over as the new Special Secretary (Health).
The administrative shake-up also hit the Delhi Fire Services after a fire at a Hauz Rani bed and breakfast claimed 23 lives. Principal Director Neduchezhiyan was divested of his charge, which has now been handed to Sachin Rana as an additional charge alongside his roles as Special Secretary for both Urban Development and Home. The fire department had recently been pulled up by Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu for failing to issue safety notices to non-compliant commercial establishments.
The transfer orders also relocated the secretaries of four ministers. Vaibhav Rikhari, secretary to the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, was posted as Director of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). Mukesh Rajora will become the new secretary to Pankaj Kumar Singh. Rajesh Chaudhary was appointed secretary to Industries and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, while Ankur Mehsram will serve as secretary to Social Welfare Minister Ravinder Singh Indraj. Ranjeet Kumar Singh will replace Vinay Kumar Jindal as secretary to Kapil Mishra.
Senior IAS officer Bipul Pathak, currently Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of Social Welfare, received additional charge of the Women and Child Development Department. Navin Chaudhary, ACS of the Irrigation Department, will take additional charge of the General Administration Department, replacing Pandurang Pole, who has been moved to Secretary (Land and Building).
Additionally, Sandeep Kumar Singh, Special Secretary at the Chief Minister’s Office, will now also manage the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation, which was recently reconstituted by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to expedite development in the Old Delhi area.
In total, the reshuffle affected 17 officers from the AGMUT cadre of the IAS and 43 officers from the DANICS cadre.
