Ashwani Kumar new special officer, Gyanesh Bharti commissioner of MCD

The central government on Friday appointed IAS officer Gyanesh Bharti and senior IAS officer Ashwani Kumar as ‘Special Officer’ of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the announcement through a notification, mentioning that Bharti, a 1998-batch Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre officer, will be the Commissioner of MCD with effect from May 22. MHA also announced the appointment of Kumar, a 1992-batch Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre officer, with effect from May 22.

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.

“This order shall come into force on May 22, 2022,” reads the order.

While Bharti is currently heading the South MCD as Commissioner, Kumar was recently transferred to Delhi from the post of Chief Secretary of the Union Territory of Puducherry.

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.