‘Punjab is essential, not … ‘: AAP minister responds to ‘non-existent’ division row | India Information – The Occasions of India
NEW DELHI: Punjab minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Sunday responded to the abolition of the ‘non-existent’ division of administrative reforms by the Punjab authorities, stating that the division’s existence is secondary to Punjab’s welfare, which stays the federal government’s main focus.
Chatting with information company ANI, Dhaliwal mentioned, “They’ve now abolished the division.We now have all come to save lots of Punjab. For me, the division shouldn’t be essential; Punjab is essential. (Whether or not this division exists or not) shouldn’t be an agenda for us”.
A notification issued on February 21 confirmed that the division, which Dhaliwal was assigned alongside NRI Affairs, “doesn’t exist.”
“In partial modification of Punjab Authorities Notification No. 2/1/2022-2Cabinet/2230 dated September 23, 2024, concerning allocation of portfolios amongst the Ministers, the Division of Administrative Reforms earlier allotted to Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Cupboard Minister, shouldn’t be in existence as on date,” the notification learn.
The transfer triggered a response from BJP, who criticised the AAP authorities in Punjab, with Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri main the cost towards Dhaliwal for managing a “non-existent” division for 20 months.
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri questioned how Dhaliwal had been operating a division for 20 months that didn’t exist. “He was heading a division for 20 months which is ‘non-existent.’ Such a factor can occur solely underneath the management of the AAP authorities,” Puri mentioned.
BJP chief Fatehjung Singh Bajwa accused the Mann authorities of poor governance, saying, “Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal is likely one of the most senior leaders of the Cupboard and he was main a non-existent Division, which implies no assembly was ever taken… What sort of administrative reforms are being taken? Persons are going overseas by dunki routes, and no agent or tout who despatched them was ever caught… This state authorities has taken Punjab again by 50 years”.
Defending his authorities’s transfer, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann clarified that the division was merged with one other to streamline governance. “We modified its title and created a brand new division. Earlier it was only for the title, there was no employees or workplace. Now, it has been created to deliver reforms, whether or not it’s in forms or different areas,” ANI quoted Mann.
Mann additional defined that comparable restructuring is being deliberate for different departments. “There are two departments – the division of administrative reforms and the one held by cupboard minister Aman Arora (governance reforms). There was confusion between the 2. We now have made it one correct division,” he mentioned.
He additionally talked about that different departments with overlapping capabilities, corresponding to irrigation, water conservation, and drainage, could also be consolidated to enhance effectivity.
The division of aministrative reforms had reportedly been ‘redundant’ for a while. Officers identified that it existed solely on paper, had no devoted officers and no important conferences or initiatives had taken place.
Dhaliwal, who now holds solely the NRI affairs portfolio, has been within the highlight, significantly after the US deported unlawful migrants to Amritsar earlier this month. Beforehand, in a cupboard reshuffle in Might 2023, Dhaliwal misplaced key portfolios corresponding to agriculture and rural growth, with administrative reforms being handed to him after the exit of Inderbir Singh Nijjar.
Nevertheless, its function remained unclear because the state’s good governance and IT departments have been already dealing with administrative effectivity enhancements.
