DC faces vigilance inquiry

The DC was directed to submit the documents on Wednesday before 4 pm, which were not delivered. The vigilance department, headed by the UT Adviser to Administrator, is now expecting these on Thursday.

In his capacity as secretary of the marketing board, the Deputy Commissioner first transferred his PA, Poonam Malik, as senior assistant in the marketing board on January 15. A week later, on January 23, she was given the charge of secretary of the Chandigarh Market Committee, which has its office in the Sector 26 Grain Market.

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As per orders released by Special Secretary (Vigilance Department)  S B Deepak Kumar, the DC has been asked to submit a copy of Malik’s initial appointment letter vide which she was appointed in the UT Red Cross Society, besides her actual designation in her parent department.

The department has further asked the DC to furnish the copy of orders under which Poonam Malik was continuing with her duties as PA to the DC, despite orders having been issued to the contrary. Sources said the last Adviser to Administrator, K K Sharma , had asked the DC to shift his PA, which was not done.  Further, the department has also asked for the order of her present posting and appointment in Market Committee.

Confirming this, S B Deepak said an inquiry had been marked against the DC and that he had been asked to produce the documents by Thursday. “He was asked for documents today (Wednesday) before 4 pm, but it was not submitted,” he said.

A senior official said on conditions of anonymity, said, “There is no question of not providing the documents to the department on time. After verifying the documents, we will take further action.”

The vigilance inquiry was marked after a complaint was submitted to senior officials saying that being an employee of the Chandigarh Red Cross Society, Poonam Malik was not eligible for deputation in the marketing board. The complaints cited the Class 3 Service Rules of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961, as applicable to Chandigarh, which says that in case of transfer on deputation an employee should be amongst the assistants working in the civil secretariat with a minimum of two years experience .

The complaint further stated that Poonam Malik’s appointment as secretary of the market committee was wrong because according to Class 2 Service Rules, only those assistants/senior assistant (working in the marketing board) could be made secretary who had a minimum of 12 years experience.

In case of the DC’s PA, her experience as senior assistant in the board was not even a week. Several experienced assistants were ignored while giving her charge of the secretary’s post, the complaint added.

Last week Newsline had reported that Home Secretary Anurag Agarwal has sought an explanation from the DC and asked him to submit a report on the recent transfer of his PA.