Despite popular measures like reducing electricity tariffs by half, 20,000 litres of free water per household, compensation of Rs50,000 per hectare for farmers, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s first year in office has been marked with one controversy after another due to trust deficit exhibited by his Ministers towards their bureaucrats over day-to-day functioning and decision making on a host of contentious issues concerning the national Capital.
The divide between the AAP Government and the bureaucracy reached its apogee when DANICS officers recently proceeded on a day’s leave in protest against the suspension of two special secretaries of the Home Department.
Even IAS officers joined their protest by proceeding on a half-day leave. The Government for the first time saw Delhi Ministers directing junior officers to directly report to them by passing their concerned secretaries and principal secretaries. Also, for the first time, PWD Engineer-in-Chief Sarvagya Srivastava was given charge of the PWD secretary — the post generally held by only senior bureaucrats. On its part, the Kejriwal Government first tried to promote DANICS officers over senior IAS bureaucrats. Once the Government started having differences with DANICS officers, it started promoting DASS cadre personnel.
According to officials, the chasm between the AAP Government and bureaucrats has been increasing with each passing day. The bitterness between the two started when Kejriwal berated Principal Secretary (Power) Shakuntala D Gamlin in a public meeting by levelling certain allegations against her. The officer even complained to lieutenant- Governor Najeeb Jung that she was being pressurised by the CM’s Principal Secretary and Minister Satyendar Jain to free-hold certain industrial plots in Delhi.
Also, the Anti-Corruption Branch filed a case against Principal Secretary (Urban Development) Chetan Bhushan Sanghi in a similar matter.
The Government even transferred senior IAS officer Anindo Majumdar from the Services Department for issuing order to the Acting Chief Secretary as per the instructions of the l-G and for acting against the CM’s wishes. The officer was humiliated as the administration locked his office. Another senior bureaucrat Arvind Ray was transferred for issuing transfer and posting orders of senior officers of the Delhi Police as per the approval of the l-G. The officer was targeted as he had reportedly acted against the wishes of the CM.
Senior IAS officer Dharampal was transferred for issuing transfer and posting of MK Meena as the Joint Commissioner of Police of the ACB as per the approval of the competent authority but against the wishes of the CM. The Government even appointed Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar as the Secretary (Home). At that time, Dharampal was the Principal Secretary (Home). This was also the first occasion when two IAS officers were discharging the duties as head of the home wing.
IAS officer Geetanjali Gupta was transferred from the post of the Transport Commissioner to a lower rank in the Delhi State Services Selection Board, which is generally manned by junior bureaucrats. Prior to Gupta, the same post in the DSSB was earlier held by the DANICS officers. Sanghi, one-time trusted lieutenant of Kejriwal, had to proceed on leave because of “undue pressure by the Government on him to name one VIP in the Delhi District Cricket Association investigation report”.
It is not only IAS officers who had borne the brunt of the AAP Government, even DANICS officers too had been “punished” for not following the orders of the Ministers. DANICS officer Kuldeep Singh Ganger was transferred from the Transport Department when he reportedly did not obey the CM’s directions to allow continuation of vendors at ISBT whose term of license had expired. He was kept without any posting for some time. later, he was moved to the prison department.
DANICS officers Yashpal Garg and Subhash Chandra were placed under suspension when they expressed their inability to issue pay hike orders because of the decision of the l-G, who referred the case to President Pranab Mukherjee. In this case, Delhi Cabinet met thrice despite the fact that the l-G had referred the matter to the Centre, ordered officials to issue notification on pay hikes to public prosecutors and Tihar jail employees.
Assistant law officer Manish Gaur was transferred to the Education Department when he refused to give his opinion on dotted lines. After a few days, he was again transferred to the law wing , but was subsequently kept under compulsory wait for his posting.
Worse come worse was the case of DANICS officers O P Mishra, Arun K Mishra and A K Gupta who were not given any assignment and were kept without pay for three to four months.
At present, IAS officers DK Mishra and Alok Swaroop and Kuldeep Gangar of the DANICS cadre too are without any post and they have also not been paid their salaries for many months.