Ashwani Kumar appointed as Special Officer of unified MCD, Gyanesh Bharti as Commissioner

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday appointed IAS officers Ashwani Kumar and Gyanesh Bharti as the Special Officer and Commissioner of the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) respectively, according to an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Civic officials said the Special Officer will be the top authority handling the civic affairs till a new House is elected.

Kumar, a 1992-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, was the Chief Secretary of Puducherry. He had recently been transferred to Delhi by the Central government and was awaiting posting.

Bharti, a 1998-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, is currently the Commissioner of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation. He was the senior most among the three municipal commissioners of Delhi.

Kumar's appointment as Special Officer of the unified MCD is considered significant as he will play a vital role in the functioning of the unified municipal corporation, months before the civic elections.

According to the order issued on Friday, the appointments will come into effect from May 22, the day when the three civic bodies get unified.

The Centre on Wednesday had issued a notification saying the three civic bodies of Delhi will be formally merged on May 22.

The term of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation ended on Thursday, while the EDMC will complete its term on May 22. The term of the elected representatives of the SDMC ended on Wednesday.

After the appointment of the Special Officer and the new Commissioner for the unified MCD, the exercise to reshuffle and reorganise the municipal staff will begin.

At present, North and East Delhi Municipal Corporations are severely hit by a fund crunch as they are unable to pay their staff regular salaries. The situation is slightly better in South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

A bill to unify the three civic bodies was approved by the Lok Sabha on March 30 and by the Rajya Sabha on April 5. The bill became an Act after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to it on April 18.

The Act reduces the number of wards in the national Capital to 250 from the existing 272, which means that the MCD will have to undergo a delimitation exercise before the election. The Centre will form a delimitation commission to carry out the demarcation of wards.