Centre appoints Ashwani Kumar as 'Special Officer' of Municipal Corporation of Delhi

New Delhi [India], May 20 (ANI): The Central government on Friday appointed senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Ashwani Kumar as 'Special Officer' of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the declaration through an order announcing the appointment of Kumar, a 1992-batch Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre officer, with effect from May 22.
"In pursuance of Section 514A of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, as amended by the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, the Central Government hereby appoints Sh. Ashwani Kumar, IAS (AGMUT:1992) as the Special Officer w.e.f. 22.05.2022 and till further orders to exercise the powers and discharge the functions of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi," mentions the MHA order.
"This order shall come into force on May 22, 2022," reads the order.
The order came two days after an MHA notification announced that the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 to unify all the three municipal corporations of Delhi-- North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation-- into one entity will come into force on May 22.
Through the Act, the Centre had proposed to appoint a "Special officer" who will essentially discharge the functions of the elected wing of councillors in the interim till the first meeting of the new corporation is held.
Kumar was recently transferred to Delhi from the post of Chief Secretary of the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Kumar had been the longest serving Chief Secretary of Puducherry. He assumed charge as the Chief Secretary of Puducherry in November 2017 and headed the administration during the politically tumultuous years when former Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi and former Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy were engaged in a turf war and also during the subsequent days of President's rule. Previously, he served as the Principal Secretary to Public Works Department in the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi. (ANI)