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Delhi has seen three Covid nodal officers since crisis began
Ever since the Covid-19 crisis started in the Capital in March, the city administration has seen at least three Covid-19 nodal officers and three new principal secretaries in key departments managing the pandemic in Delhi, government records show.
Ever since the Covid-19 crisis started in the Capital in March, the city administration has seen at least three Covid-19 nodal officers and three new principal secretaries in key departments managing the pandemic in Delhi, government records show.
On Monday, the services department, after the approval of Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, appointed 1990-batch IAS officer Bhupinder Singh Bhalla as principal secretary (home) and designated him the “nodal officer for the overall management of Covid-19” in Delhi. Bhalla replaced 1988-batch IAS officer Satya Gopal who was the additional chief secretary (home) in the Delhi government.
A Delhi government spokesperson on Wednesday said that in the last three months, key officers involved in the management of corona crisis have been frequently changed without taking the elected government into confidence. The L-G’s office in its response said that Baijal and the Central government have rather augmented Delhi’s team of top Covid-19 officials by requisitioning senior bureaucrats to the Capital.
As per records, Satya Gopal, who was the additional chief secretary (home), was the first top officer to be made the nodal officer for Covid-19 in Delhi. However, on June 7, he was replaced by principal secretary (health and family welfare) Vikram Dev Dutt. But, with Monday’s order, the nodal officer was changed for the second time and now Bhalla is managing the task.
Similarly, the health department has also seen several changes. Till mid-April, the department was being led by secretary (H&FW) Padmini Singhla. On April 15, the L-G appointed Rajesh Prasad as Singhla’s boss in the position of principal secretary (H&FW). Then on June 7, Prasad was removed from the post and Vikram Dev Dutt took over.
The Delhi government spokesperson said, “Removing officers from important posts without any reason affects the morale of all officers who are all working very hard during this crisis. It also disturbs the chain of command as every new officer has to first get a hang of all the ongoing efforts. Continuity of the officers in such key positions is very important so that the understanding of the crisis developed by them is utilised to fight the pandemic proactively.”
To this, the L-G office said what is being done for Covid management in Delhi is “actually just the opposite” to what the Delhi government is claiming.
“We would like to highlight that it was the L-G who in the past few weeks has brought in officers from the municipal corporations in Delhi to aid the government. Also, several senior bureaucrats have also been deputed in Delhi from other union territories by the government of India to help the Delhi government,” said a spokesperson in the L-G office.
When it comes to hospitals, the medical director of Lok Nayak hospital, which is Delhi’s biggest Covid-19 hospital, has also been changed thrice since the hospital started treating Covid-19 patients. After initially overseeing the creation of the isolation wards in the hospital Dr Kishore Singh was removed from the position of the medical director. Keeping the extraordinary situation in mind, despite having crossed the age limit of 62 years, former director of the hospital Dr JC Passey was appointed as medical director of the consolidated Lok Nayak campus -- including GB Pant hospital, Guru Nanak eye centre, and Maulana Azad Medical College.
He too was removed from the post, allegedly after the central government sought clarification from the Delhi government on why he had been appointed as MD despite having crossed the age of 62. Later, Dr Suresh Kumar from the department of medicine took over the charges as medical director.
