Outgoing Delhi chief secy MM Kutty had several run-ins with AAP govt
Kutty, a 1985 batch IAS officer of union territories cadre, was appointed Chief Secretary of Delhi in November last year
After a tumultuous year-long stint with the Aam Aadmi Party government, Delhi Chief Secretary MM Kutty was on Tuesday appointed additional secretary in the Union finance ministry.
His successor in Delhi government is yet to be decided.
“The process has been initiated and will take a few days as the Delhi government needs to nominate names from which the Lieutenant Governor will pick the officer. In the meantime, an interim official will be appointed,” a government official said.
Kutty, a 1985 batch IAS officer of union territories cadre, was appointed Chief Secretary of Delhi in November last year. Since then, he has had multiple run-ins with the Kejriwal government with the most controversial one being with the Delhi Assembly Committees.
AAP MLAs and chairmen of these committees such as Saurabh Bharadwaj and Rakhi Birla had criticised Kutty last month for “evading” show cause notices after he moved the Delhi High Court and got stay orders on the notices issued by the House panels.
Kutty had summed up his position in the government in a submission before the court: “Caught between the devil and the deep sea”. His comment had resonated among other bureaucrats working with the AAP government, who claim, they often face difficulties either way – be it for siding with the ministers or for following the L-G’s directives.
The Delhi government had also blamed Kutty for not attending the meetings of the Metro fare fixation panel. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had alleged Kutty and other officials did not oppose the fare hike on behalf of the government. He had also been accused of acting allegedly on the BJP’s behest.
Last month, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had sought an explanation over Kutty’s absence from an event held to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Before serving in the AAP government, Kutty had been the principal secretary to former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit. He has also served as AAP government’s finance secretary.