The Delhi government has ordered ‘working groups’ of District Magistrates (DMs) to assess the functioning of different departments in the city and to report on and ensure convergence between them. The groups have also been empowered to “call meetings with officers of the department concerned” and submit a detailed report with proposals and recommendations by October 5.
The move has ruffled feathers in the bureaucracy, with questions being raised about the feasibility of the exercise which “places junior district officials above senior officers”.
On the other hand, a senior Delhi government official said this was in line with L-G V K Saxena’s aim of making the post of an average DM “a more active and dynamic one”. “Through these working groups, junior civil servants will be able to identify administrative possibilities in their jurisdiction across various avenues of public services. It will also enrich them in terms of experience for when they head larger individual departments,” the official said.
Sources pointed out that the order coincided with the first meeting between newly sworn-in Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and her Council of Ministers and civil servants heading government departments during which both sides are said to have announced they would function as a cohesive unit.
“It is an odd situation, to say the least, where junior IAS officers with less experience – from AGMUT (Central cadre) batches 2011 to as recent as 2019 – of the service have been asked to make recommendations on better functioning to senior officials who’ve been heading government departments, in most cases, for longer tenures than they have been IAS officers,” a senior official said.
As per the order, issued by the office of the divisional commissioner Tuesday, the DMs have been tasked with submitting detailed reports “with actionable recommendations” and “concrete proposals” related to the efficient functioning of 17 important government departments, including transport, health, education and environment as well as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Council.
The order states that 10 district magistrates will also identify rules where the role of the Revenue Department functionaries has been envisaged.
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According to the order, the aim was to “strengthen the functioning and operations of the Revenue Department, facilitate better convergence of work, schemes and service delivery involving multiple agencies, and foster greater inter-departmental coordination at the field level…”
Four separate working groups of Delhi DMs, the order added, were being created for “detailed examination and preparation of cogent proposals”.
Other functions
-According to the order, the groups are to “undertake a comprehensive and exhaustive examination of all Laws/Acts/Statutes/Rules and various schemes etc which are currently being enforced/implemented by departments concerned.”
-They will also “identify all clauses/provisions/sections of the existing laws/ statutes/rules” where the role of Revenue Department officials such as DMs, SDMs, Tehsildars and other revenue functionaries “is envisaged and the present status in the field” apart from areas and sections under where it “can be inserted for enhanced efficiencies…”
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-“Working Groups will also identify other areas of convergence and synergy where the DMs can play a critical catalytic role in facilitating greater inter-departmental coordination and inter-agency cooperation to ensure enhanced efficiencies and better service delivery at the cutting edge…,” the order stated.
Here are the Working groups:
-Ravi Jha, DM (New Delhi), and Mekala Chaitanya Prasad, DM (South) — Transport, Social Welfare, Women & Child Development and Labour departments.
-G Sudhakar, DM (Central) and Yash Chaudhary, DM (North) — Health & Family Welfare, CATS, Environment & Forests, DPCC and DUSIB
-Dr Kinny Singh, DM (West), Rishita Gupta, DM (Shahdara), and Ankita Anand, DM (North-West) — MCD, the NDMC, the Delhi Jal Board, the Public Works Department and the Irrigation and Flood Control Department
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-Veditha Reddy, DM (North-East), Amol Srivastava, DM (East) and Lakshay Singhal, DM (South-West) — Excise, Education, Food & Supplies and Industry
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