IAS Officer Who Emptied Stadium To Walk Dog Scores Big Delhi Role

IAS officer Sanjeev Khirwar, the new Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commissioner, had been shunted out of the national capital amid a massive controversy in 2022. Khirwar drew fire in 2022 amid allegations that athletes at Delhi's Thyagaraj Stadium complex were asked to leave early so that the bureaucrat could "walk his dog".

Khirwar is a 1994-batch IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre. His wife, Rinku Dugga, is also an IAS officer.

On May 26, 2022, The Indian Express reported that Thyagaraj Stadium, where young athletes practice, was being closed for sports activities earlier than usual so that Khirwar, then Delhi's Principal Secretary (Revenue), could walk his dog.

"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," the newspaper quoted a coach as saying.

Khirwar had then said the allegation was "absolutely incorrect". He accepted that he "sometimes" took his pet for a walk at the facility but denied that it disrupted the athletes' practice. In the wake of the controversy, Delhi's then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had directed all state-run sports facilities in the city to stay open for sportspersons till 10 pm.

Following the row, the Union Home Ministry transferred Khirwar to Ladakh. He has now been brought back, and Ashwani Kumar, the previous MCD commissioner, transferred to Jammu and Kashmir. The bureaucrat takes charge right before the MCD prepares to present its budget and faces several administrative and financial challenges.