Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Thursday ordered a sweeping bureaucratic reshuffle, removing the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief in the wake of a deadly fire in Malviya Nagar that killed 23 people and overhauling the Health Department after a Rs 350-crore medical equipment procurement scandal.
DFS Leadership Change After Deadly Blaze
Special Secretary (Home) Sachin Rana has been given additional charge as DFS chief, replacing A Nedunchezhiyan. The change comes amid intense scrutiny of Delhi's fire safety and emergency response following a series of major incidents. After the Malviya Nagar fire, the L-G had publicly criticized the DFS for failing to conduct proper due diligence.
Health Department Shake-Up Over Procurement Scam
All senior Health Department officials have been replaced. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) will no longer approve departmental expenditure or financial proposals; that authority now rests with Special Secretary (Health) Yash Chaudhary, an IAS officer of the 2017 AGMUT batch. Chaudhary also takes additional charge of the Central Procurement Authority (CPA).
The shake-up follows the Delhi Anti-Corruption Bureau's uncovering of a Rs 350-crore scam in medical equipment procurement, in which a doctor was arrested. Vinod Kumar Ranga, former head of the CPA, was suspended after the Directorate of Vigilance raided the CPA office in May.
Financial Control Shifted to Secretariat
The DGHS, which oversees Delhi's public healthcare system, hospitals, and public health programmes, will now see financial decision-making moved to the administrative secretariat. The order gives the Special Secretary (Health) greater control over expenditure approvals, which typically determine the pace of projects, procurements, and public health initiatives.
Other Key Appointments
DANICS officer Mukesh Rajora has been appointed Secretary to Health Minister Pankaj Singh, who also holds the Transport and IT portfolios. Pandurang K Pole becomes Secretary of Land and Building, handling government land and acquisition. G Sudhakar is now Director of Women and Child Development, additionally overseeing the State Urban Livelihoods Mission and Delhi Commission for Women. Several other DANICS officers have been appointed as secretaries to ministers across portfolios including Industries, Environment, Law, Labour, and Social Welfare.
The reshuffle involves 43 senior IAS and DANICS officers and has been implemented with immediate effect.
