The differences between various administrative wings of the AAP Government once again came to the light when the Services Department recently transferred Chief Secretary KK Sharma's Official on Special Duty (OSD) Ramvir Singh without informing the Chief Secretary.
Upset over the action of the Services Department, Sharma, while exercising his administrative powers, is said to have cancelled the January 29 transfer order of his OSD transferred to the Commission of Inquiry headed by Gopal Subramanium probing alleged irregularities in the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) scam - on Monday.
The development reflects tussle within the powers of corridor in the Delhi Government. This is not the first occasion when the CS had been put in an embarrassing situation by the AAP administration. The AAP Government had at one point of time even issued a show-cause notice to him to explain why he had sent certain files related to the Delhi Police to lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung.
In a strong worded order, the CS said, "Whereas Services Department has issued this order to transfer of such an important functionary of the office of Chief Secretary without seeking prior and formal permission of the Chief Secretary".
"The Services Department issued an order which Ramvir Singh, OSD to Chief Secretary has been transferred and his services placed at the disposal of Gopal Subramanium Commission of Inquiry with accompanying "stand relieved instructions' together with instructions not even to wait to hand over charge and join his new place of posting from February 1, 2016".
"The requirements of the office of the CS, amongst other things include dealing with sensitive and the confidential matters required to be handled by a competent official enjoying the trust and confidence of the CS. And whereas, the CS Delhi as the official head of civil administration has to perform multifarious functions and it is imperative that his office functions smoothly and efficiently," the CS said.
Insiders said the transfer of CS's OSD is a clear indication of power tussle between within the departments of the Delhi Government. The Services Department, comes under the control of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. But Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's secretary Rajendra Kumar is the Principal Secretary of the Services Department. The incident may be seen as tussle between Kumar and Sharma.
Earlier, contrary to the convention, the AAP Government had also issued a circular stating that the weekly meeting of the HODs would be chaired by none other than the Deputy CM. During erstwhile Sheila Dikshit's 15-year rule, the weekly meeting of the HODs was chaired by the CS only.
A senior IAS officer said the AAP Government's decision to hold the weekly meetings under the chairmanship of the Deputy CM was a clear message to the bureaucrats that the Ministers were the real administrative heads of their respective departments.
The Government had also told the CS not to attend meetings of the Union Home Ministry to discuss transfer and postings of IAS and IPS officers. last meeting of Joint Cadre Authority went unattended by Government of NCT Delhi.