This was the first meeting of the board after last week’s Supreme Court verdict
New Delhi:
A key meet of the Civil Services Board (CSB) to consider the recent directions of the Delhi government, was delayed yesterday as the chief secretary remained unavailable, sources have said.
Delhi Services Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj waited for the meeting till 9.30 pm, but it could not take place since Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar was busy throughout the day, it’s learnt.
This was the first meeting of the board after the landmark Supreme Court verdict that ruled in favour of the AAP government in a tussle with the centre over the control and posting of bureaucrats in Delhi.
Two other members of the board, sources say, also waited for the meeting along with Mr Bharadwaj till late evening.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over administration of services and only “public order, police and land” are excluded from its jurisdiction.
In a democratic form of governance, the power of administration must rest on the elected arm and the Lieutenant Governor is bound by its decision, said the bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.
Just hours after the verdict, IAS officer Ashish More was removed as the secretary of the services department.
Mr Bharadwaj said Mr More, after being asked to make way for his replacement on Thursday, “unexpectedly left the Secretariat” and switched off his phone.
He was issued a show cause notice for not “complying with the Supreme Court order.
Besides Mr More’s removal, Saurabh Bharadwaj had ordered that he be replaced by IAS A K Singh. Both orders are yet to be implemented.
Earlier, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced after the verdict that there would be transfers to remove corrupt officers and bring in honest, hard-working officers. “Our work will now resume at 10 times the speed,” Mr Kejriwal said, promising a “lean, thin, responsive, passionate and accountable” government.
