Brain behind Delhi's Car-Free Day shunted out, repatriated

NEW DELHI: Days after the transport department celebrated " Car-Free Day" with much fanfare, the architect of the event, special commissioner Kuldeep Singh Gangar, has been relieved of his duties and repatriated. Gangar is the second officer in the department to be shunted out. Earlier in September, the then commissioner of transport, Geetanjali Gupta, had been transferred as well.

Gangar's transfer orders were issued a day before the Car -Free Day was celebrated on October 22, but neither Gangar nor the transport minister, Gopal Rai, knew about the move, said senior officials in the know. "Neither the transport minister nor the office of the deputy chief minister knew of the transfer order. It was issued by Rajender Kumar, in charge of services department, directly on the orders of the chief minister," said the source.

Rai, who is currently travelling in Sweden on a study trip on public transport, had been heard praising Gangar for his work in the past few months. Gangar had been in charge of the Car-Free Day event, as well as being closely involved with the campaign on public transport that had been kicked off by Rai last month.

Gangar, who was also executive director of the Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation, had been working on the renovation of ISBTs as well. Several representations from AAP volunteers had come to the government for stopping the auctioning of shop premises within the Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar interstate bus terminals, which are set to undergo renovation.

Gangar's transfer order comes weeks after Gupta, the transport commissioner, was removed mid-September. She was transferred because of complaints by the transport minister's office, said a source. "The perception was that she was not moving at the same pace as the minister, who wanted files to move faster," added the official. Gupta has now been replaced with Parimal Rai, who also holds the office of principal secretary, social welfare.