Who is Sanjeev Khirwar, IAS officer accused of getting Delhi stadium emptied to walk his dog

Thyagraj Stadium in Delhi (File Picture)

Athletes training at Delhi’s Thyagraj Stadium have alleged that they have been asked to empty the arena early so a bureaucrat can walk his dog there, The Indian Express  reported.

The Controversy 

According to The Indian Express, athletes and coaches at the Delhi government-run Thyagraj Stadium have been complaining about being forced to wrap training earlier than usual by 7 pm 0ver the past few months. This, they alleged, is being done so that IAS officer Sanjeev Khirwar can walk his dog at the facility.

Khirwar has, however, denied disrupting practice at the stadium.

Current posting

Khirwar is currently posted as divisional commissioner and principal secretary (revenue) of the Delhi government. He is one of the seniormost bureaucrats posted in the Delhi government. All district magistrates (11) and sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) posted in Delhi report to him as divisional commissioner. During the pandemic, Khirwar was posted as Delhi’s divisional commissioner, a senior position in the capital’s bureaucracy after chief secretary and additional chief secretary.

Also read | IAS officer wanted to walk his dog and a Delhi stadium was vacated. Twitter is furious

Bureaucrats in Delhi are directly appointed by Union Ministry of Home Affairs through the Lieutenant Governor (L-G). Incidentally, the controversy about Khirwar comes on a day when Vinai Kumar Saxena will take oath as Delhi's new L-G.

Previous postings

Khirwar, 50, is a 1994-batch Indian Administrative Officer of AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre.  Apart from Delhi and Chandigarh, he has been posted in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

In his career of about 28 years, he has served in important positions like Goa excise and finance commissioner and deputy commissioner of West Delhi. He has also been secretary in Arunachal Pradesh and secretary in Andaman and Nicobar. As part of his central deputation between October 2009 and August 2014, Khirwar was posted as private secretary to the Union woman and child development minister.

In Delhi, he has held important positions like Secretary Health and Family Welfare, Revenue, Finance and General Administration department. He also served as additional secretary in the Agri Marketing Board and Commissioner Excise and Taxation Department Delhi Government 2006-07.

Prior to his present posting, he was principal secretary (environment and forest) with the additional charge of principal secretary (revenue)-cum-divisional commissioner in Delhi.

Khirwar's first posting, after qualifying IAS in 1994, was SDM (junior scale) in Chandigarh.

Family 

Khirwar was born in Delhi. He is married to Rinku Dhugga, also a 1994 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre. Dhugga, hailing from Haryana, was also spotted by the newspaper walking with her husband in the stadium. She has been posted in Delhi, Goa, Chandigarh, Arunachal Pradesh, among other states.

Education

Khirwar is a BTech in Computer Sciences and also has a master’s degree in Economics.