CM repositions babus to put agenda on fast track
Source: The Sangai Express / Courtesy : TNN
New Delhi, December 29 2013:
The first day of the AAP Government ended with a major bureaucratic reshuffle that marked the end of the Congress line of thinking on policy matters and created room for the ruling party's agenda.
The move came barely a few hours after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's address at Ramlila Ground where he asked the bureaucracy to join the task of Nation building set out by AAP.
Later, in his first address to the bureaucrats, Kejriwal said they must not worry as there won't be any witch hunt and those who work with honesty need not have any fears.
"I told them 'if you work with honesty and in the interest of the people, I will protect you'," Kejriwal told reporters.
A few hours later, Kejirwal had in place an entirely new team.
Rajendra Kumar, a 1989 batch IAS officer, has been posted as Secretary to Chief Minister, replacing Principal Secretary MM Kutty.
Kumar, who was the Secretary in-charge of Higher Education, Technical Education and Information Technology, was on the job as Secretary to the CM when he assumed charge on Saturday afternoon.
MM Kutty, a senior IAS officer who was Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's Principal Secretary, has been moved to Finance.
But, now Kutty has been posted as Principal Secretary in-charge of Departments of Social Welfare and Women and Child development.
The new CM has put faith in former NDMC Chairperson and now Home Secretary, Archana Arora (1983 IAS), who has been given additional charge of the crucial Finance Department.
A 1991 IAS officer, Debashree Mukherjee, who was posted as CEO, Delhi Jal Board, has been repatriated and posted as CMD, Delhi Transport Corporation.
The DTC CMD, Vijay Kumar, will now be CEO, DJB, and pave the way for reforms with the promise of free water up to 700 litres daily, likely to be delivered early next week.
Power is the other area where Kejriwal has to deliver his promise of slashing the tariff by half.
RK Verma, principal secretary, power, known to be a strong man in Sheila Dikshit's crack team, has been transferred to the department of higher education and technical education.
He will also handle the IT department.
Verma was transport commissioner and the man behind the many critical policy decisions of the Dikshit government during Commonwealth Games in 2010.Transport commissioner Puneet Kumar Goel, a 1991 batch IAS officer, will now hold the portfolio of power.
A 1984 batch IAS officer, Arvind Ray, who is now principal secretary, development, will hold additional charge as, secretary, transport, now.
The new crack team reflects, Kejriwal's spirit for change and also reaffirms his resolve to give bureaucrats the opportunity to breakout of the image of the typical "babu" and carve out a new image in the minds of the people now waiting to partake in the decentralization dream of "aam aadmi" as presented by Kejirwal's AAP.
Meanwhile, C Arvind, additional commissioner, trade and taxes, has been posted as secretary to education and urban development minister Manish Sisodia.
Vinay Bhushan, general manager, DTTDC, is now secretary to law and administrative reforms minister Somnath Bharti.
.DVerma, additional director, education, is now secretary to minister of social welfare and women and child development Rakhi Birla and P K Panda, special commissioner, trade and taxes, has been named as secretary to health minister Satender Jain.
C Uday Kumar, additional secretary, urban development, will be secretary to employment and labour minister Girish Soni and G Sudhakar, DIG prisons, central jail, will be secretary to transport minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.
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