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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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
