Videos of waterlogged roads, cars stalled axle-deep in flooded underpasses and commuters wading through knee-deep water had flooded social media through the week, along with the season’s usual crop of memes mocking the Millennium City’s drainage.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast very heavy rain over the next 24 hours, so the crisis is far from over.
Dahiya’s Thursday transfer had already raised eyebrows in the bureaucracy, since he was among the officers who had spent over a year working on the ground on Gurugram’s chronic waterlogging problem, coordinating with GMDA, the municipal corporation and the drainage department on desilting and storm water projects.
Dahiya was Municipal Commissioner through last year’s monsoon as well, when Gurugram saw similar scenes of flooded roads and stranded vehicles. That gave him a working knowledge of the city’s weak points, the low-lying underpasses and choked drains that flood first, and of what worked and what did not the last time round.
Officers familiar with the department told ThePrint that Dahiya’s experience of a full monsoon cycle was seen as an asset the administration could not afford to lose midway through the current one.
Pulling him out just as the monsoon peaked struck many as an odd call. His return to the same post less than a day later suggests the government arrived at the same conclusion.
Gurugram’s other drainage agency also saw a change of sorts on Friday, though not in personnel. Phool Chand Meena, the 2004-batch officer who is CEO of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, has been relieved of his Chandigarh assignments as Commissioner & Secretary, Human Resources, and Commissioner & Secretary, General Administration, freeing him to concentrate on Gurugram.
ThePrint had reported last week that Meena was juggling four charges spread across three cities, with the two Chandigarh postings pulling him away from GMDA, which he continues to head, besides Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority.
GMDA is, alongside the municipal corporation, one of the two major agencies responsible for Gurugram’s stormwater drains, and with the city still under water, keeping its CEO tied down in Chandigarh was clearly untenable.
Haryana’s IAS cadre is currently about 20 percent short of its sanctioned strength, which is why officers such as Meena had ended up holding multiple full-time charges across departments and cities in the first place.
Dahiya’s transfer is one among 17 IAS and 5 HCS officers shifted by the Haryana government Friday, touching key departments including Finance, Information and Public Relations, Mines and Geology, Medical Education, Human Resources and General Administration.
Two IAS officers of the 2007 batch, Khetmalis Makarand Pandurang and Dusmanta Kumar Behera, were elevated to the rank of Commissioner & Secretary.
Pandurang, who held charge as Director General of Mines and Geology as well as Information, Public Relations, Languages and Culture, has now been made Commissioner & Secretary of the Information, Public Relations, Languages and Culture Department, Commissioner & Secretary of the Mines and Geology Department, and CEO of Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority.
Behera moves in as Commissioner & Secretary of the Human Resources Department and Commissioner & Secretary of the General Administration Department, relieving Phool Chand Meena of the Human Resources charge.
Dr Aditya Dahiya, a 2011-batch IAS officer, has been named Director of Information, Public Relations, Languages and Culture and Special Secretary of the department, relieving Pandurang of that charge. He retains his other assignments as Director of Art and Cultural Affairs, Managing Director of Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited, and Director of the Department of Future.
Among the other senior moves, G. Anupama, the 1991-batch Additional Chief Secretary, has been given additional charge of the Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Department, relieving Rajeev Ranjan. C. G. Rajini Kaanthan, 2004 batch, moves to Finance as Commissioner & Secretary while retaining charge of the Central Committee of Examinations, and also takes over Medical Education and Research, relieving Dr Sumita Misra.
Rajiv Rattan of the 2008 batch has been made Secretary of the Personnel, Training and Parliamentary Affairs Department and Director of Training, besides Inquiry Officer, Vigilance, and Director General of Supplies and Disposals, in place of Pankaj, the 2009-batch officer who now takes over as Secretary of the Haryana Public Service Commission and Managing Director of Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited, relieving Aditya Dahiya of that charge.
Prabhjot Singh, 2010 batch, has been given additional charge as Transport Commissioner and Secretary of the Transport Department, while his batchmate Hema Sharma has been posted as Commissioner, Karnal Division, in place of Rajiv Rattan.
Yashendra Singh, 2011 batch, has been posted as Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Faridabad, and CEO of Faridabad Smart City Limited, in place of Dhirendra Khadgata, who moves to Medical Education and Research as Director and Special Secretary, besides taking charge as Director of State Transport, Haryana.
Pratima Chaudhary, 2013 batch, has been shifted to the Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department as Special Secretary, and also made Member Secretary of the Haryana State Commission for Women and Managing Director of Haryana Women Development Corporation Limited.
She has been relieved by Sachin Gupta, the 2018-batch officer who continues as Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, and additionally takes charge as Controller, Civil Defence, Ambala.
Renu Sogan, 2019 batch, who was awaiting posting orders, has been made Additional Secretary of the Public Health Engineering Department, while her batchmate Samwartak Singh Khangwal has been given additional charge as Director of Mines and Geology and Additional Secretary of the Information Technology, Electronics and Communication Department, relieving Pandurang.
Vivek Arya, the 2021-batch officer, moves to Panchkula as Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Citizen Resources Information Officer, CEO of Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board, and CEO of Zila Parishad and DRDA, Panchkula, in place of Nisha, who has proceeded on leave.
On the HCS side, Yogesh Kumar Mehta has been given additional charge as Secretary of the Haryana Traders Welfare Board. Vijender Hooda has been posted as CEO of Zila Parishad and DRDA, Charkhi Dadri, in place of Pradeep Ahlawat-II, whose fresh posting orders will be issued separately after he hands over charge and reports to the Chief Secretary’s office.
Virender Chaudhary takes over from Vivek Arya as Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Citizen Resources Information Officer, Kurukshetra, while Pankaj Kumar replaces Chaudhary as CEO of Kurukshetra Development Board and CEO of Zila Parishad and DRDA, Kurukshetra.
Suresh Kumar who was awaiting posting, has been made City Magistrate, Charkhi Dadri. Monika gets additional charge as Joint Director, Administration and Mid-Day Meals, in the Elementary Education Department, while her batchmate Manjeet Kumar has been posted as Estate Officer, HSVP, Rohtak, and Land Acquisition Officer, Rohtak, relieving Shubham of the charge.
