Delhi picks senior DMRC exec as Metro chief; Centre’s view awaited

The Delhi government has selected Vikas Kumar, who is Delhi Metro’s director (operations), as its “best suited candidate” for taking over as the Managing Director (MD) of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), senior government officials said on Wednesday.

They added that the Delhi government has sent the file to the central government which is supposed to hold consultations with the Delhi government before the name is finalised.

Kumar is an officer of the 1988-batch of the Indian Railway Traffic Service, and was earlier working as the executive director of operations in the DMRC, prior to his current role.

“We found no better person to fit the role of MD, DMRC than the person who has been responsible for the entire operations of the Delhi Metro, which has the largest network in all of India. Now, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is free to discuss the matter with us as we have sent the file to them informing about the Delhi government’s choice. But, it will be difficult for MoHUA also to deny Kumar the position because with the construction of most phases being over, the focus currently is on operations, monitoring and keeping up with the standards of the Delhi Metro,” said a senior Delhi government official who asked not to be named.

An official notification naming Kumar as the new MD was not issued till Wednesday evening, but several government officials confirmed that Kumar was likely to receive the nod. He will replace Mangu Singh, who is set to retire on March 31, 2022.

Singh was only DMRC’s second MD, after E Sreedharan, and took charge on December 31, 2011. His tenure has been extended multiple times, most recently in September last year, till March 31.

The search for a new MD has not been without controversy as the Centre had expressed its displeasure over having no representative in the selection committee. Only last week, Mohua wrote to the Delhi chief secretary stating that in the past, the selection committee did have representatives from the Centre, including the then secretary in Union ministry of urban development, the Delhi chief secretary and the incumbent MD, E Sreedharan.

The Delhi government and the Centre have a 50:50 stake in the DMRC.

The present selection committee, which is chaired by Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, was notified only last Thursday and includes the Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot, an additional chief secretary in the Delhi government and an independent expert.