New Delhi: The arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwals's former Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar appears to have spread a sense of fear among top bureaucrats of the Delhi government.
In an apparent bid to stay out of any legal trouble, at least three senior officials have written to the government stating their disinterest in taking up any additional charge.
Worst hit by the ongoing tussle between the state and central government, the officials are now pursuing the Delhi government to relieve them of the posts which are not meant for them.
Additional Secretary, Home, O.P. Mishra, who also oversees the Law and Justice department, has asked the Delhi government to take back the additional post assigned to him.
In a letter to the Delhi government, Mishra has requested the dispensation to appoint an eligible candidate for the post of Additional Secretary, Law and Justice.
In his letter, the official has observed that the post is that of dealing with legal cases in which Delhi government is a party.
“The same is being manned by an officer of Delhi Judicial Services on deputation basis. A judicial officer… is expected to have… the intrinsic knowledge, competence, skills, expertise and familiarity with plethora of statues of acts and law,” the letter reads.
Another case in point is that of Sanjay Kumar, the Excise Commissioner, who handles the additional responsibility of Transport department. Like Mishra, he has requested the Delhi government to appoint an official meant for the Commissioner’s post.
Similarly, VAT Commissioner S S Yadav, who has been appointed as the CEO of Delhi Jal Board and head of Directorate of Information and Publicity, also wants to shed the additional responsibilities.
Kejriwal had transferred 10 DANICS officers to his much-hyped Anti-Corruption helpline 1031. However, the appointment of Additional Commissioner of Police, M K Meena, at the helm of the Anti Corruption Bureau prompted the government to transfer all officers back to their respective departments.
