IAS officer shunted over dog-walking row returns: Sanjeev Khirwar appointed Delhi MCD commissioner; focus on roads and strays

NEW DELHI: Sanjeev Khirwar, a 1994-batch IAS officer, was appointed as the new municipal commissioner of Delhi, more than three years after he was shifted out of the capital following a dog-walking row. He is likely to take charge on Thursday.

Khirwar was moved out of Delhi in 2022 after he was embroiled in a controversy over walking his dog at the Thyagaraj Stadium.


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Athletes and coaches training at Thyagraj Stadium in Delhi had alleged that they were asked to wrap up training earlier than usual, by 7pm, as Khirwar and his wife, Rinku Dugga, also a 1994 batch IAS officer, had to walk their dog there. Khirwar was Delhi's principal secretary (revenue) at that time.

Then Thyagraj administrator Ajit Chaudhary had refuted the allegations and said the official time for athletes to train was till 7pm and coaches and athletes would leave after that. Khirwar, too, had denied the allegations, terming them "absolutely incorrect." However, athletes claimed they usually used to train until 8.30pm, but were forced to wrap up their training by 7pm, disrupting their routines. He was subsequently transferred to Ladakh.

In Ladakh Khirwar served as principal secretary handling key departments, including health and medical education. He was transferred back to a post in Delhi earlier this month from Ladakh as part of a major revamp of AGMUT-cadre IAS and IPS officers by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Khirwar will succeed Ashwani Kumar, a 1992-batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, who was transferred to Jammu and Kashmir earlier this month.

MCD, the city’s primary civic body, is responsible for sanitation, public health, roads and other municipal services.

Khirwar’s appointment comes at a time when the corporation is grappling with several administrative and financial challenges, and many projects are pending for implementations. Stray problem and the setting up of shelters for dogs will be among his responsibilities.

Khirwar previously served as private secretary to the Union minister for Women and Child Development between 2009 and 2014.

His wife Rinku Dugga, too, was transferred in 2022 to Arunachal Pradesh, where she served as principal secretary of the Indigenous Affairs Department. She was given compulsory retirement under service rules in Sept 2023.