Delhi govt’s WCD dept sacks 52 contractual employees of DCW

The Women and Child Development (WCD) Department of the Delhi government has dismissed the services of 52 “illegally” appointed contractual employees of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), officials confirmed on Thursday.

This action follows a report submitted by a committee in June 2017, which flagged the irregularities. Initially, an order issued on April 29 mentioned the termination of 223 contractual staff, but the department later clarified that only 52 employees were affected, with the remaining posts vacant.

A proposal based on the committee’s recommendations was sent to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, who sanctioned the termination, leading to the issuance of the order, officials explained.

Former DCW chief and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal criticized the move, denouncing it as arbitrary and detrimental to the commission’s functioning. Maliwal emphasized the critical role of the commission and vowed to safeguard its operations against unjust disruptions.

The committee, appointed by then Lt Governor Anil Baijal, had been tasked with investigating complaints of irregularities in posts and appointments at DCW. Its findings deemed the appointments as illegal and recommended the termination of staff employed without proper sanction.

The statement from the WCD Department highlighted that despite the committee’s recommendations, the DCW, under Swati Maliwal’s leadership, delayed action, leading to the recent intervention by the WCD Department.

Presently, 52 contractual staffers are employed, the officials confirmed.

(with PTI inputs)