Delhi secretariat gets ready to welcome new sarkar

NEW DELHI: A painter swiftly touches up the outline of a Congress minister’s nameplate that’s resting on the floor. Officials of the general administration department buzz about the Delhi secretariat supervising the cleaning of rooms vacated by the outgoing ministers. Staff on leave is being summoned back by Thursday, in time for the new government’s first cabinet meeting after a much-talked-about oath ceremony at Ramlila Maidan.

Nameplates of four Congress ministers were removed on Friday when it became clear that AAP would form the next government. However, those of Arvinder Singh and A K Walia were intact on the sixth floor till Tuesday morning. In Singh’s room, a wall hanging of the Golden Temple was the only sign of the previous occupant. Around 12 noon on Tuesday , the administration ordered immediate removal of the remaining nameplates and painting of the walls. The rooms, which looked carefully vacated anyway, were cleaned thoroughly. “Most of the ministers called for their belongings a few days after the results. Since then the rooms have been lying locked,” said an officer.

Three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit did not have a nameplate outside her third-floor office. However , the adjoining office of her confidant and political advisor , Pawan Khera, still had his nameplate on.

After 15 years with Sheila Dikshit and her Congress governments, the officials seem nervous about the impending change of guard. Some officers said they are apprehensive because the new cabinet will be much younger. AAP president Arvind Kejriwal is only 45 years old. “Most of us got conditioned to work in a particular way. We hope it will be a positive change,” said a senior bureaucrat. Others said the change will not make any difference. “For us, it’s the work that matters. We have nothing to worry about,” said one.

Sources said Kejriwal has already started collecting details of the bureaucrats , their work and track record. He is expected to crack the whip on those who are involved in controversies or named in scams, and has also shortlisted the more ‘corrupt’ departments.