New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) Deputy Cheif Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia here on Monday slammed Lt. Governor Anil Baijal and the central government for crippling the Delhi government by running a “circus” of transfer-postings.
Sisodia made the comment while tabling an outcome report on the office of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) in the Assembly.
He said the circus was going on since August 2016 “when the LG office stated that it was the sole in-charge of services.”
“In the last 30 months, Delhi has seen four Chief Secretaries. The Chief Minister got to know about the appointments through the media,” he said.
Sisodia also said senior officers, including Principal Secretaries, were allowed by the LG to go on leave “without consulting/informing the Ministers concerned.”
Citing examples from various departments, he said the Department of Environment has seen seven Principal Secretaries in the last two-and-a-half years with the longest tenure since August 4, 2016 being 8 months.
The Department of Urban Development — the nodal department for municipal corporations, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and development work in all unauthorised colonies — has seen 8 Principal Secretaries in the last two-and-a-half years, the outcome report said.
The Transport Department too has seen four Principal Secretaries in the same period “at a time when the elected government is making all possible efforts to procure 3,000 buses and 1,000 electric buses for the people of Delhi,” Sisodia said.
“The Department of Social Welfare has seen 7 Directors, while the Department of Women and Child Development six Principal Secretaries in the same period,” he said.
Sisodia also attacked the central government for the huge vacancies in Delhi, saying “this is not just the report card of the LG, but also Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he is heading the central government, which is responsible for the transfer and posting of officers.”
He said Delhi has the highest level of vacancies of teachers, doctors, engineers, clerks and other staff due to the “perennial mismanagement” in these departments. The Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) has seen five Principal Secretaries in the last two-and-a-half years, Sisodia said.
“There is no word on when the vacancies would be filled,” Sisodia said.
Pointing at the numbers, Sisodia said 4,000 posts were vacant in the Delhi Administrative Subordinate Services (DASS) cadre of the Delhi government.
“In the Revenue Department, 157 sanctioned posts of patwaris and 36 posts of kanungos are vacant. Over 5,300 posts of teachers are vacant, 386 posts of lecturers in Delhi University colleges, which are fully funded by the Delhi government. A total of 1,144 lecturers’ posts are vacant in DU colleges to which the Delhi government contributes 5 per cent funds,” Sisodia said.
–IANS
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