The Delhi Government has strengthened the administrative leadership of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) by appointing two senior Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) officers as directors.
As part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle ordered on Wednesday by Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Vaibhav Rikhari has been posted as the Director, Delhi Jal Board, replacing his earlier assignment as the Secretary to Health Minister Pankaj Singh, who also holds the Transport and Information Technology portfolios. Also, Vinay Kumar Jindal, who was serving as the Secretary to Law Minister Kapil Mishra, has also been appointed as the Director of the Delhi Jal Board.
The appointments come at a time when the DJB is witnessing changes at the top. Earlier this month, senior IAS officer Sajjan Singh Yadav assumed charge for the second time as the Chief Executive Officer of the Delhi Jal Board, while BJP MLA Satish Upadhyay took charge as its vice-chairman after the formation of the new government.
The induction of two senior officers adds to the administrative team leading the utility, which is responsible for supplying drinking water to the Capital, managing sewerage networks, operating sewage treatment plants and implementing key infrastructure projects.
The Delhi Jal Board is also a key agency in the government’s Yamuna rejuvenation programme, with responsibility for expanding sewage treatment capacity, intercepting untreated drains and improving wastewater management to reduce pollution flowing into the river.
Besides long-term infrastructure projects, the new officers will also be overseeing a utility that routinely faces operational challenges, including seasonal water shortages, complaints of contaminated water supply, leakages in the distribution network, delays in sewer connectivity and monsoon-related sewer overflows.
