The petitions committee of the Delhi assembly on Thursday sought action against the chief secretary, principal secretary (finance), health secretary, and finance secretary of the Delhi government for allegedly stalling the submission of action-taken reports (ATR) related to different issues.
The committee chairman Rajesh Gupta filed the report on behalf of the panel before the assembly. The report said that the petitions committee was not satisfied with the responses it received from the officers, including chief secretary Naresh Kumar, on why the ATRs were delayed during a meeting held on August 14.
Additionally, the report recommended that the matter be referred to the committee of privileges for a detailed examination so that the “guilty officer(s) could be identified and punished as deemed fit”.
The committee sought action in connection with three reports adopted by the Delhi assembly on January 19, 2023. The first report was related to irregularities in the functioning of the OPD centres in Delhi government hospitals due to the removal of the data operators; the second one related to the stoppage and irregularities in the disbursement of old age pensions; while the third one regarding alleged attempts to sabotage the functioning of the Mohalla clinics.
The petitions committee, on January 19, directed the chief secretary to submit the ATRs on the recommendations within 30 days (from January 19). “However, the chief secretary and the secretaries of the departments concerned, in complete disregard to the recommendations of the committee failed to submit the ATRs,” Thursday’s report said. The committee blamed the chief secretary for the delay in the submission of ATRs and said that he was defying the decision of the House. “The departments submitted the draft ATRs to the chief secretary...stalled the submission in the assembly. (He) wrote in the file that these issues are related to day-to-day administration and the petitions committee cannot consider them...,” the report added.
{{/usCountry}}The petitions committee, on January 19, directed the chief secretary to submit the ATRs on the recommendations within 30 days (from January 19). “However, the chief secretary and the secretaries of the departments concerned, in complete disregard to the recommendations of the committee failed to submit the ATRs,” Thursday’s report said. The committee blamed the chief secretary for the delay in the submission of ATRs and said that he was defying the decision of the House. “The departments submitted the draft ATRs to the chief secretary...stalled the submission in the assembly. (He) wrote in the file that these issues are related to day-to-day administration and the petitions committee cannot consider them...,” the report added.
{{/usCountry}}HT reached out to the chief secretary, and the three other officers mentioned in the report, who did not respond to queries seeking comments.
Meanwhile, former chairperson of the committee, Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, said that the health minister also noted that the chief secretary’s action was against the directions of the speaker.
Meanwhile, a Delhi government official, on condition of anonymity, said that many lapses have been recorded in the functioning of the Delhi government hospitals, which requires a detailed audit by a third party. “To bring all facts related to the performance of these hospitals, it would be good to get the performance audit of these hospitals done by a third party to fix responsibility,” said the official.
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