Sanjeev Khirwar is back to Delhi’s administrative corridors, three years after being shunted out over a controversy while he was Delhi’s Principal Secretary (Revenue) in 2022. The senior Indian Administrative
Service (IAS) officer has been appointed Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) — one of the key civic administrative positions in the national capital.
Khirwar became widely known — and criticised — due to a major controversy in 2022 when, as Delhi’s Principal Secretary (Revenue), he was accused of having athletes at the government-run Thyagraj Stadium asked to wrap up their practice early so that he could walk his dog on the premises.
“We used to train till 8-8.30 pm under lights earlier. But now, we are asked to leave the ground by 7 pm so that the officer can walk his dog on the ground. Our training and practice routine has been disrupted,” a report in the Indian Express had quoted a coach as saying.
This had sparked public outrage and debates over entitlement and abuse of power by bureaucrats. Khirwar had denied that his dog-walking disrupted athlete training. Stadium officials later stated that the official closure time was already 7 pm and that athletes were not necessarily asked to leave early.
The Union Home Ministry had transferred Khirwar to Ladakh following the controversy. His wife, Rinku Dugga, who is also a 1994-batch IAS officer, was simultaneously transferred to Arunachal Pradesh. She was later reported to have been compulsorily retired by the central government under civil service rules, citing public interest, after the controversy.
The Union Home Ministry has now brought him back to Delhi in a significant administrative role, naming him the MCD commissioner. In this role, he oversees the city’s civic services, including sanitation, roads, infrastructure, and more, as the corporation tackles major financial and administrative challenges.
Khirwar is a 1994-batch IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre, a group of officers who serve in various Union Territories and some states. Khirwar has held various administrative roles over his career, including in revenue and civic administration.
Over his long career, he has held several key administrative positions, including:
- Principal Secretary (Revenue), Delhi government — a senior bureaucratic post that oversees revenue administration and district magistrates.
- Secretary, Environment Department, Delhi — in charge of environmental planning and programs.
- Trade & Tax Commissioner in Delhi — dealing with commercial and tax administration.
Earlier in his career, he began service as Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in Chandigarh. He holds a B.Tech in Computer Engineering and a Master’s degree in Economics.
/images/ppid_59c68470-image-17688275390862042.webp)
