What can be seen as Delhi’s new government’s first major step in ensuring a corruption-free system , the name of the whistleblower officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi  has been proposed for the head of the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

Chaturvedi, a 2002 batch Indian forest service (IFS) officer of Haryana cadre, currently on deputation in the ministry of health, is serving at the All India institute of medical sciences (AIIMS) as deputy secretary.

While listing out the priorities of the new government, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia earlier said his party wanted to give Chaturvedi a responsible position in the administration.

"We will try to bring Sanjiv Chaturvedi in the anti-corruption bureau after forming the government. He is a very honest officer and has done commendable job in Haryana and AIIMS,” Sisodia told media persons on Friday.

While the top leadership of AAP is all eager to place Chaturvedi in the key position, it would not be that easy a task for the new government, given the not-so-pleasant relations between Chaturvedi and the central government.

The decision on Chaturvedi’ s appointment as ACB chief will depend on the central government which includes the ministry of health and the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) which is headed by the prime minister.

 According to the cadre rules of the all-India services, the concerned officer seeking transfer or cadre change has to get a no-objection certificate from the ministry where he is on deputation. Thus, if in this case chief minister Arvind Kejriwal writes to the centre to release Chaturvedi, a no-objection certificate will have to come from the ministry of health. After that the approval from ACC will be required.

Thus for inter-cadre deputation the role of the ministry of health and the chairman of ACC is very important. Only after these two bodies clear Chaturvedi’s name he can be shifted to the Delhi government.
In other words, the onus lies on prime minister Narendra Modi and health minister JP Nadda: if they want Chaturvedi as the head of ACB, they can give a no-objection.

But only two weeks ago the ACC had reportedly stalled Chaturvedi’s appeal for a cadre change from Haryana to Uttarakhand. So, AAP should not expect Chaturvedi’s appointment to sail through easily.

Keeping in mind that the removal of Chaturvedi from the post of central vigilance officer (CVO) of AIIMS last year, which was widely criticized by the media and civil society, was made by this government, the task of receiving all clearances from the same for the proposed appointment would not be that easy.

AAP had openly criticised Dr Harsh Vardhan, the then health minister, for transferring Chaturvedi from the post of CVO.

Chaturvedi, while working in Haryana, had done a commendable job in acting against corruption and faced the wrath of the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government.

During his 25-month stint as AIIMS CVO, Chaturvedi’s probe let to action in 165 cases. Charge-sheets were issued in 87 of these cases and penalties were imposed in 78 cases including compulsory retirement and dismissal for 21 officers.