Delhi LG moves out Dusib chief after inspection of shelters

The move comes after Saxena, during a visit last week, flagged several shortcomings at Delhi shelter homes run by Dusib, attributing these to the body’s “inefficient management”. To be sure, the transfer order does not mention any reason for the transfer.

Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena has transferred K Mahesh from his position as chief of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (Dusib), according to an official order. He will now take charge as the special director of Union Territory Civil Services (UTCS).

K Mahesh. (Sourced)

The move comes after Saxena, during a visit last week, flagged several shortcomings at Delhi shelter homes run by Dusib, attributing these to the body’s “inefficient management”.

To be sure, the transfer order does not mention any reason for the transfer.

Garima Gupta, an IAS officer from the batch of 2004, who is currently Delhi’s secretary of social welfare, has been given additional charge as Dusib CEO.

People in the LG’s office aware of the matter said that Saxena may also initiate action against Mahesh, a 2006-batch IAS officer. Mahesh did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment on the matter.

Two other state officers were transferred or given additional charge as well, said the order, which was issued on Monday.

Detailing some of the lapses that Saxena noted during the inspection, an official in the LG office said, “A shelter in ISBT Kashmere Gate could only be occupied by 600 people, because of which thousands were sleeping in the cold at night. The LG also noted that people were relieving themselves in the open, due to the lack of toilets.”

The officials also said that Dusib was ordered to set up toilets for residents of slums in north Delhi’s Jailorwala Bagh, adjacent to a plot owned by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) where the LG had commissioned a project to build a nursery.

“Nearly six months later, Dusib has failed to provide such facilities. Apart from causing hardships to residents of slums, this has kept the nursery project from moving forward,” the first official added.

However, a third official aware of the matter, who asked not to be named, said that toilets cannot be constructed on the Jailorwala Bagh site because there is no sewer line, and the area falls under Yamuna floodplain. He added that some of the people at the Kashmere Gate and Hanuman Mandir could not be moved inside over security concerns.

Sunil Aledia, executive director of the Centre for Holistic Development (CHD), one of several NGOs that help manage Delhi’s shelter homes, said, “We told the LG that, at one spot, there were just 22 toilets for 400 people in the shelter. Around 5,000 were sleeping outside on the road. Some tents have been added after the LG’s visit.”

Aledia, who works for the homeless in Delhi, said the city has 196 homeless shelters, including permanent ones, porta cabins and tents.