‘Letter war’ over Ghaziabad mayor’s husband ‘accessing officials files’
A letter was allegedly sent by the municipal commissioner’s office to department heads on Wednesday, alleging that official files/documents of the corporation were getting produced before the mayor’s husband in an unauthorised manner.
The municipal commissioner of the Ghaziabad municipal commissioner Vikramaditya Singh Malik and the Ghaziabad mayor Sunita Dayal have locked horns over a letter sent by the commissioner’s office to department heads on Wednesday, alleging that official files/documents of the corporation were getting produced before the mayor’s husband in an unauthorised manner.
Dayal responded by alleging various “irregularities and scams” were taking place in the municipal corporation and that she will soon bring these out in the open. On Thursday evening, she issued a two-page letter, and raised objection to the language used in the purported letter by Malik. Mayor in her letter said she had brought to fore irregularities in five major instances and these were admitted by officials. The mayor also spoke about the role of “three senior officials” and alleged that they were working in their “self-interest”.
The six-page letter by Malik was widely circulated on Thursday, even outside of the municipal office, and bears the date and letter number besides the signature of Malik.
“Husband of mayor has no right to call up officials/staff of the municipal corporation and demanding official documents/files and getting their photocopies/scanned copies. Such act is interference in official duties and also barred and punishable under Officials Secrets Act, 1923… inspite of this, he is taking up this work continuously with your cooperation,” the letter said.
The letter also references various government orders and guidelines of 1996, 2010 and 2012, mentioning restrictions against interference by husbands or relatives of elected women representatives of local bodies.
HT could not independently verify the authenticity of letter purportedly issued from the office of the municipal commissioner
When reached out, Malik was unavailable for comment, and his personal assistant, Alok Kumar, said the municipal commissioner has proceeded on leave and will join back on Monday. In his absence, additional municipal commissioner Arun Kumar Yadav will be in charge, said Kumar, while refusing comment on the letter.
Dayal refuted all allegations against her husband and alleged that she will soon make public certain “scams and irregularities” taking place in the corporation.
“If I bring some officials files/documents for careful inspection, I cannot tell my husband to move out just because office files are at home. Apart from some close friends who come home, no one even knows the name of my husband. The municipal commissioner’s official residence cum office also has a lot of files which are dealt with on a daily basis. I can allege similar things against him. I have received this letter from different sources, but I am still awaiting a copy through the official channel,” Dayal said.
“Since I have come to know about different irregularities and (alleged) scams in the corporation, the said letter has been issued and leaked to tarnish my image,” she claimed.