Rejig of bureaucrats may trigger fresh standoff

In a move that may further aggravate the ongoing tussle between the AAP government and the Centre, there has been a major reshuffle in the bureaucratic circle. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has time and again been alleging that his government was not being provided the officers of its choice to serve the city even as most of the AGMUT cadre officers are said to be reluctant to work in Delhi due to trust deficit between the elected government and bureaucracy in the state.

In a major reshuffle, the Joint Cadre Authority (JCA) of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre has approved transfer and postings of over two dozen bureaucrats from the Delhi government. The JCA meeting was recently held at the ministry of home affairs.

A 1988 batch IAS officer, Dharmendra Sharma, who was posted as the chairman of the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) in the AAP government, has been transferred to Goa with immediate effect, while the transfer order of S.N. Sahai, a 1986 batch IAS officer, from Delhi to Goa has been cancelled after he was appointed as the additional secretary in the ministry of corporate affairs at the Centre. Mr Sahai is currently holding the post of principal secretary (home and finance ) and is considered close to deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

Mr Sharma had returned to Delhi only a few month back, but the AAP government was unhappy over his functioning in the city administration. After appointing him as the principal secretary (finance), he was shunted to the DSSSB as he had raised objections against some projects of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

According to the orders, Manisha Saxena, a 1996 batch IAS officer has been transferred from Mizoram to Delhi. The JCA has requested the Mizoram government to relieve her with immediate effect. The JCA has also approved transfer order of Niharika Rai, a 2005 batch IAS officer as private secretary to the minister of state (independent charge) for youth affairs and sports Vijay Goel at the level of deputy secretary with effect from the date of assumption of the charge on coterminous basis till she ceases to function as private secretary to the minister or until further orders whichever event occurs the earliest. Mr Rai is currently the district magistrate of South in the city government.

A 2007 batch officer, Azim Ul Haq, currently serving as the district magistrate (southwest) has been transferred to Arunachal Prade-sh. Brij Mohan Mishra, a 2008 batch IAS has been transferred from Arun-achal Pradesh to Delhi. Ruchika Katyal, a 2013 batch IAS officer has been transferred from Arunac-hal Pradesh to Delhi.