Centre appoints Sanjeev Khirwar as MCD commissioner; Officer earlier linked to stadium dog walk row
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday appointed senior IAS officer Sanjeev Khirwar as the new commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, marking his return to the national capital nearly three years after he was transferred out following a high-profile controversy linked to the Thyagraj Stadium.
Khirwar, a 1994-batch AGMUT cadre officer, takes charge of the country’s largest civic body at a critical juncture, with the MCD’s annual budget due later this month and the corporation grappling with persistent administrative and financial challenges. His appointment was notified through an official order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and communicated to the office of the Delhi lieutenant governor.
Hindustan Times reported that he replaces Ashwani Kumar, a 1992-batch IAS officer, who has been transferred to Jammu and Kashmir. Kumar had been serving as the MCD commissioner since June 2024 and earlier played a key role as special officer during the unification of Delhi’s three municipal corporations into a single entity.
In May 2022, Khirwar was accused of restricting athletes’ access to the Delhi government-run Thyagraj Stadium in the evenings to facilitate walking his dog. The allegations had triggered widespread criticism and public debate on the use of public infrastructure by senior officials. Khirwar had denied the allegations, but he was subsequently transferred out of Delhi to Ladakh.
Now back in the capital, Khirwar will oversee the MCD’s daily functioning, implementation of civic policies and coordination among departments at a time when issues related to finances, sanitation, urban infrastructure and service delivery remain under sharp public and political scrutiny.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
