Assembly panel asks LG to fill vacant posts at Asha Kiran

Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena


With claims of a big disclosure regarding the appointment of the administrator of the Asha Kiran Shelter Home where 14 people died in the last few days, the Petition Committee of the Delhi Legislative Assembly on Monday alleged that a corrupt officer was appointed as the administrator of the shelter home under Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, without consulting the Delhi government.

MLA Kuldeep Kumar rejected the claim of the LG office that the officers of Asha Kiran Home were appointed in the year 2020.

Kumar claimed the investigation revealed that Saxena became the LG in May 2022 and on October 4, 2022, he appointed an officer who was suspended for 5 years in the case of taking bribe as the administrator of this home, the AAP MLA alleged.

The Petition Committee and Kumar held a press conference on Monday and put before the public the things that they say came out during the investigation of the 14 deaths of people in the said shelter home recently.

Kumar said that after visiting the shelter home on Saturday, the Petition Committee of the Delhi Assembly also held a meeting with the officials of the shelter home in the Assembly on Monday, and there information was sought from the officials about the reasons for this incident.

The committee members and MLAs Rajkumari Dhillon, Bhupender Singh Joon, Jai Bhagwan Upkar, Haji Yusuf were also present at the press conference.

Kumar has alleged that a false statement was being continuously issued by the LG that those officials have been saying for two days that they were appointed in 2020.

The data received from the officials in this meeting showed that the administrator of the shelter home was appointed on 4 October 2022 and VK Saxena became the LG of Delhi in May 2022.

The Committee has said that it came to know from the officers that there is a huge shortage of staff in the shelter home.

Delhi’s Health Minister has repeatedly written letters to the LG that he should immediately recruit doctors, paramedical staff and ANMs in Delhi’s hospitals, Mohalla clinics and shelter homes, but the LG has not made any appointment till date, the AAP leader claimed.

Kumar further said that the LG would have to explain as to why he did not take any action against the officers of that department even after three days of this incident.

“Will write a letter to the LG for this, so that he can fill these posts soon. The committee will investigate this matter by calling more officials. Services in Delhi are under LG. Therefore, the responsibility of transfer posting of officers is his. He should not run away from his responsibility,” Kumar added.