In an unusual turn of events, 2013 IAS officer Pradeep Dahiya has been reinstated as Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Gurugram, barely 24 hours after being transferred out as Deputy Commissioner, Rohtak, leaving several officials and residents surprised at the swift reversal.
Dahiya’s transfer out of Gurugram was notified a day earlier, coinciding with visuals of the city’s waterlogged roads going viral on social media following heavy rain. The transfer was widely believed to be linked to the flooding visuals, though the government maintained that the posting change was part of routine administrative reshuffling.
However, the situation on the ground appeared to shift within hours. Gurugram’s roads reportedly returned to normal within two hours of the downpour, with the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the Gurugram MC undertaking a coordinated drainage response. This quick turnaround is believed to have worked in Dahiya’s favour, prompting the government to reverse the transfer order and reinstate him to his earlier post.
Officials have again described the fresh order as a routine transfer, in line with the explanation offered for the original posting change a day earlier. Dahiya remained unavailable for comment on either development.
The back-to-back orders have raised eyebrows within bureaucratic circles, with several officials privately noting that transfers being reversed within 24 hours are rare, and the sequence of events — a viral flooding video, a transfer, a rapid civic response and a reinstatement — has not gone unnoticed. The episode comes at a time when Gurugram’s monsoon preparedness and drainage infrastructure have been under close public and political scrutiny, with waterlogging emerging as a recurring flashpoint for the city’s civic administration.
Dahiya had earlier been serving as Commissioner, Gurugram MC, and District Municipal Commissioner, Gurugram, before Tuesday’s order moved him to Rohtak as Deputy Commissioner (Designate). Wednesday’s fresh order has restored him to his previous Gurugram charge.
