Following the controversy over the removal of the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday appointed its joint secretary Manoj Jhalani as the CVO for duration of three months.
A letter from the Health Ministry said that the matter was examined and with the approval of the Union Health Minister, this decision was taken. “In continuation of this department’s office memorandum dated August 14, 2014, the matter has been examined and with approval of Union Health Minister, it has been decided to assign the charge of CVO AIIMS, New Delhi to joint secretary and CVO of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for another three months with effect from November 13 or till regular order, whichever is earlier,” said the Ministry.
Jhalani, who is now going to be the CVO, has succeeded Vishwas Mehta, a 1986 batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre who completed his tenure last month. Mehta, too, was appointed only after the removal of Sanjeev Chaturvedi, the former CVO and a 2002 batch Haryana cadre forest service officer.
Chaturvedi was removed from the post of CVO of AIIMS after former Minister of Health Dr Harsh Vardhan said that he is not eligible for the post. The removal led to a series of controversies, however, soon after his removal Mehta was put on job and now Jhalani has taken over. Chaturvedi was removed before his tenure ended. His tenure was supposed to end in 2016. Jhalani’s tenure will now end on February 13.