SEVERAL SENIOR POSTS TO BE FILLED

The tug of war over administrative authority between the Lieutenant Governor and the Delhi government has not only taken a toll on infrastructural development projects, but also affected dayto-day functioning of the city administration as most bureaucrats are reluctant to join the Capital’s administration

Even before the alleged assault on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Praksh, several bureaucrats had shown reluctance to join the Aam Aadmi Party-led dispensation.

Due to the staff cruch, several key administrative posts, including Home, PWD, Services and Urban Development are headed by a single bureaucrat Manoj Kumar Parida.

Other senior bureaucrats include Renu Sharma, Principal secretary (Finance) and H Rajesh Prasad, Commissioner (Trade and Taxes).

To add to the elected government’s woes, many senior bureaucrats have been transferred out of Delhi, leaving no one in the Chief Minister’s Office. The Delhi government is short of over two dozen senior officials.

Of the 104 posts of IAS officers, 56 are considered senior duty posts. Senior duty posts are reserved for bureacrats with experience of 12 years or more.

Another issue pointed out by sources in the AAP government is the careless attitude of high ranking officers.

For instance, Principal Health Secretary chandrakar Bharti has not attend as many as 11 crucial meetings of the government, including review meetings on fire safety services, in Delhi’s government hospitals and mohalla Clinics.

On October 10, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had chaired a review meeting of Directorate General of Health Services, where the agenda was the progress of Burari, Dwarka and Ambedkar Nagar hospital projects. This too was skipped by the Principal Secretary.