Transport adviser to take on top role in govt advisory body
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Monday appointed transport minister Kailash Gahlot’s adviser Jasmine Shah the vice-chairperson of the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDCD).
The post in the commission — an advisory body of the Delhi government — was lying vacant for more than six months since former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashish Khetan resigned in April this year.
An alumnus of Iit-madras and Columbia University, Shah has been advising the government on budgetary and transport policies since 2016. On Monday, Shah’s appointment was cleared at a Cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the chairperson of the commission. The vice-chairman of DDCD enjoys Cabinet-level position, officials maintained.
“A notification conveying my appointment will come out in a few days from now and I will be able take charge only after that. My aim is to make DDCD a bridge between the government and all external stakeholders. The idea is to leverage the voice of people and access ideas of experts globally,” Shah said.
For the last one year, Shah has been involved in several bigticket projects of the AAP government, including the introduction of the common mobility cards, rationalization of bus routes and induction of electric buses into the Delhi bus fleet. He has also been a leading member in structuring the government’s “outcome budget” and “green budgets”.
The AAP government had set up DDCD in February 2015 to consider ideas, identify the best practices and policies from around the world and translate these into concrete recommendations for transformative change.
Besides Shah’s appointment, the Delhi Cabinet on Monday took several other decisions.
GOVT JOBS FOR SPORTSPERSONS
The cabinet approved a proposal to reserve five per cent seats in all state government departments, PSUS and autonomous bodies for eminent sportspersons, an official statement said. “Out of 5% reserved vacancies for meritorious sportspersons, at least 3% of posts in group C may be reserved for sportspersons who have won medals, participated in specified international sporting events,” the statement said.
For the remaining 2% posts, Group A and Group B ex-cadre posts in the Delhi government will be earmarked for appointment of sportspersons who have won medals in specified international sporting events, it added.
REVISION OF PAY SCALE
The Delhi government also approved the revision of pay scale of employees of the government-run higher education institutions as per the 7th pay commission recommendation. The Delhi government runs three universities, one institution and 12 fully-funded and 16 partially-funded colleges in the Delhi University.