On November 3rd, 2024, the Haryana Government’s Personnel & Training Department issued an order under the signature of then-Chief Secretary Mr. Anurag Rastogi (1990-batch IAS officer), appointing eight IAS officers as Commissioners for various Municipal Corporations in the state. However, concerns have been raised about the lack of statutory notifications in the Official Gazette required for these appointments under the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994.
The appointments included Mr. Ashok Kumar Garg (2009-batch IAS officer) as Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation (MC) Gurugram, Mr. Dharmender Singh (2012-batch IAS officer) as Commissioner of MC Rohtak, Mr. Brahmjeet Singh Rangi (promotee IAS) as Commissioner of MC Panipat, Dr. Vaishali Sharma (2017-batch IAS officer) as Commissioner of MC Karnal, Mr. Sachin Gupta (2018-batch IAS officer) as Commissioner of MC Ambala, Ms. Aparajita (2018-batch IAS officer) as Commissioner of MC Panchkula, Mr. Niraj (2019-batch IAS officer) as Commissioner of MC Hisar, and Ms. Renu Sogan (2019-batch IAS officer) as Commissioner of MC Manesar.
Mr. Hemant Kumar, an advocate at the Punjab & Haryana High Court, pointed out that the appointments lack statutory validity as they were not notified in the Official Gazette, as mandated by Section 45(1) of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994. This section stipulates that the government must officially appoint MC Commissioners through notifications published in the Gazette.
Mr. Hemant Kumar has written to several officials, including Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatraya, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Urban Local Bodies Minister Mr. Vipul Goel, Chief Secretary Mr. Vivek Joshi (1989-batch IAS officer), and other key authorities, urging the immediate publication of these notifications. Despite this, the requisite Gazette notifications have yet to be issued.
The advocate emphasized that without Gazette notifications, the legal validity of the appointments and the actions taken by these Commissioners could be challenged in court. He added that the state government is obligated to adhere strictly to the provisions of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, leaving no room for oversight or delay in compliance.
