Urban Affairs Ministry asks Delhi govt to withdraw non-bureaucratic nominations to Delhi Metro board

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has asked Delhi government to withdraw its nomination of non-bureaucrats to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Board.

In a letter written by K Sanjay Murthy, Additional Secretary of Urban Affairs Ministry to Delhi Government's Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev, the Central Government official cited the recent nomination of four private individuals as government nominee directors on the board of DMRC while highlighting the precedence in this regard.

"It is pertinent to mention that Government Nominee Directors bring not only domain knowledge and expertise but are also accountable to various tasks of the company for ensuring time-bound implementation of the project. It is easier to hold government officers on the Board in their ex-officio capacity accountable which may not be possible from private individuals," the letter reads.

Emphasising further over the suitability of an ex-bureaucrat on the post, the letter says, "It is advised that in the interest of development of DMRC, GNCTD should withdraw the nominations of Government Nominee Directors referred to above who are not government servants and nominate, as earlier, such officials of the state government who deal with the subject and bring domain knowledge, expertise and accountability to drive DMRC into a world-class transport service provider."

Delhi government and the Central government have been at loggerheads on several issues concerning Delhi metro including last year's fare hike and Delhi government's recent proposal of making metro ride free for women.