NEW DELHI: Nearly four years after his name became shorthand in Delhi for a most unusual administrative controversy—one involving a dog, a stadium, and some very angry athletes—senior IAS officer Sanjeev Khirwar is back in the Capital, this time as the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
The MHA on Wednesday formally communicated the decision to the Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. The appointment marks Khirwar’s return to Delhi’s civic and bureaucratic centre after a long detour through Ladakh.
Khirwar will take over charge from Ashwani Kumar, who served as MCD Commissioner from June 2024 to January 2026. Kumar has now been transferred to J&K, closing a chapter that began with his crucial role in managing the unification of three erstwhile municipal corporations.
For Khirwar, the return carries a different kind of political and public memory. In May 2022, Khirwar was transferred out of Delhi to Ladakh following a public row that quickly snowballed into a national talking point. At the centre of the controversy was the Thyagraj Stadium complex, a key training venue for athletes in the city. It was alleged that athletes were being asked to vacate the track, and the complex was being cleared by around 7 pm so that Khirwar and his wife, Rinku Dugga — also an IAS officer — could walk their dog.
Coaches and athletes cowmplained that the restriction severely disrupted training schedules. But Khirwar denied the allegations at the time.