MCD violates norms, recalls 30 corrupt officials

In a blatant violation of rules, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has reinstated its officials who were caught red handed by the anti-corruption branch and the Central Bureau of Investigation, reports Neelam Pandey.

In a blatant violation of rules, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has reinstated its officials who were caught red handed by the anti-corruption branch and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

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A list of 62 officials who had been caught on corruption charges have been provided by the civic agency’s executive wing in response to a query by a Congress councillor, Preeti.

The reply states that all these officials, besides two others, were caught red-handed by the anti-corruption branch and the Central Bureau of Investigation between April 2004 and April 2009.

Out of this the civic body has reinstated a total of 30 officers. This has happened at a time when the municipal commissioner has passed a policy against reinstating such officials.

The reply further mentions, “on the basis of the recommendation of review committee, a policy has been prescribed by the commissioner that the officers caught red-handed by CBI/anti-corruption cell, be not reinstated.”

There are a total of 30 such reinstated officials. The rest have been placed under suspension.

Most of the corrupt officials are from engineering, sanitation, horticulture, Slum and JJ and House Tax departments of MCD and were working in one of the 12 zones of MCD.

They have been reinstated either by the commissioner himself or additional commissioners, who are the competent authority for reinstating such officials.

“I had been getting complaints of corrupt officials who had been caught red-handed by anti-corruption branch being reinstated in Shahdara (south) zone,” said Preeti, who goes by her first name.

“When I approached the senior officials of the zone they clearly denied this. I therefore decided to seek some answers in this matter by raising this question in MCD House.”

The civic agency had introduced the biometric system in Aug 2008 and during registration of officials under the system, 22,853 employees were found missing. The civic agency claimed this had led lost them Rs 204 crore per year.