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Commissioner asked to reinstate his secretary

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 6. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi House today asked the Municipal Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta, to reinstate immediately as his Secretary, G. S. Matharoo, who was transferred as Deputy Commissioner, Central Zone, last month allegedly at the direction of the Chief Minister.

The Councillors, cutting across party lines, pulled up Mr. Mehta for not implementing a similar direction of the Standing Committee last month. The Councillors alleged that they were against the transfer of an `honest and efficient' official at the direction of some one outside the MCD.

Concluding more than an hour-long debate on this issue during which the Councillors even levied allegations against the Secretary of the Delhi Chief Minister, the Leader of House, Satbir Singh, warned Mr. Mehta to either enforce the "resolution and order" of the House and the Standing Committee or else face action against him by the `democratically- elected' civic body.

"You (Mr. Mehta) have conceded that Mr. Matharoo is an honest officer and he was transferred under pressure. What were the reasons for his transfer? Why have you evaded so far the implementation of the decision of the Standing Committee. The entire House including the Mayor, the Standing Committee Chairman and the Leader of Opposition directs you to reinstate Mr. Matharoo as your Secretary," Mr. Singh said.

Raising the issue, the senior BJP Councillor, Aarti Mehra, alleged that Ms. Dikshit was trying to run the civic body with a remote control. "We want Matharoo back," she said. Her party colleague Vijender Kumar Gupta, alleged that the "Secretary of Ms. Dikshit, Renu Sharma, belonged to a family of tainted officials who were caught red-handed by the Central Bureau of Investigation". While almost all the Congress Councillors kept quiet except for the objections raised by the Appointments Committee Chairman, Ajit Chaudhary, Mr. Gupta alleged: "The R. K. Puram house of Ms. Sharma's father-in-law, P. C. Sharma was raided by the CBI. In desperation, he threw whatever cash he had from his balcony which the CBI later found through his fingerprints. He was suspended from service."

Claiming that the transfer of Mr. Matharoo allegedly at the direction of Ms. Dikshit was not being made an issue by any officer, the senior Congress Councillor, Jitender Kochar, said: "This involves the prestige and dignity of the MCD. This also raises the question who would rule the MCD, the Councillors or some one in the Delhi Government by remote control?"

The Leader of the Opposition, Subhash Arya, feared that certain vested interests might come in the way of Mr. Matharoo's reinstatement. "We do not want the career of an MCD official to be damaged," he said. Ram Kishan Singhal of the BJP and Virender Kasana and Ramesh Pandit of the Congress were among others who spoke on the occasion.

In his reply, the Commissioner said a decision in this regard would soon be taken in consultation with the Mayor, the Leader of House, the Standing Committee Chairman and the Leader of the Opposition. The House turned down the statement, and Mr. Singh and Mr. Arya said there was no other option but to reinstate Mr. Matharoo.

Officials in the MCD Law Department said the House resolution has tied the hands of Mr. Mehta. "Now he has no other option, but to abide by the decision of the House," officials said. "Mr. Mehta could have ignored the decisions of the House only in case of any issue involving financial implications or concerning land," the official added. "At the most Mr. Mehta can only delay its implementation giving the plea that the minutes have not been confirmed. However, the meeting of the House could be convened any time to get the minutes confirmed," another official said.

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