Hry govt transfers Gururgam, Faridabad municipal chiefs

The Haryana government on Monday night transferred the municipal commissioners of Gurugram and Faridabad in a bureaucratic reshuffle involving six senior IAS officers. chief secretary Anurag Rastogi issued the orders allegedly after public outrage over civic unpreparedness during the season’s first pre-monsoon showers.

Pradeep Dahiya, a 2013-batch IAS officer and former deputy commissioner of Jhajjar, has been appointed municipal commissioner of Gurugram, replacing Ashok Kumar Garg. Dahiya will also serve as district municipal commissioner. In Faridabad, IAS officer Dhirendra Khadgata has taken over as municipal chief. Both are expected to assume charge by Wednesday.

Officials maintained the transfers are routine.

The transfer comes just days after both cities experienced widespread flooding, paralysed traffic, and disrupted public services due to heavy rainfall. Despite prior identification of waterlogging hotspots and preparedness claims, civic bodies failed to mitigate damage, drawing sharp criticism from residents and civic groups.

Dahiya said his immediate focus would be on water supply, sanitation, drainage management, and broader urban infrastructure. “We will work with urgency to fix waterlogging and ensure systems are in place before the peak monsoon,” he said.

Gurugram’s civic post has also been upgraded to a senior IAS scale under Rule 12(1) of the IAS (Pay) Rules, 2016, municipal officers said.

Outgoing Gurugram commissioner Ashok Kumar Garg, though removed amid criticism, is credited with improving MCG’s citizen engagement. His tenure also drew attention when he controversially appointed Tilak Raj Malhotra, the mayor’s husband, as MCG advisor—a move later revoked.

Gauri Sarin, founder of Making Model Gurugram, criticised the high turnover of district administrators. “In my 20 years here, we have seen continuity suffer and residents pay the price. Ashok Garg is just the latest casualty in a long line of abrupt exits—marked by unfinished work, citizen frustration, and behind-the-scenes deals. He inherited a massive challenge, moving from a young municipality to a complex cityscape. Yet, despite steering the BJP to a surprising electoral victory, he is now out,” she added.

The other four IAS officers include, Amneet P Kumar commissioner and secretary to government , Haryana fisheries department to civil aviation. Dharmender Singh district municipal commissioner Rohtak as special secretary for cooperation department and administrator HSVP Rohtak and Swapnil Ravindra Patil from commissioner municipal corporation Faridabad to deputy commissioner Jhajjar.