In Delhi, it was costly for the IAS husband and wife to walk their dog inside the stadium. Both were transferred from Delhi to Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh after the matter of vacating the stadium for dog walking came to light. Now the news that is coming out is that the IAS couple has gone on a long leave after joining.
Both Sanjeev Khirwar and Rinku Dhugga are 1994-batch officers of the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre. On May 26, Khirwar was transferred to Ladakh by the Ministry of Home Affairs, while his wife Dhuga was posted to Arunachal Pradesh. There was a lot of discussion about it on social media too. At that time people started checking the distance between Ladakh and Arunachal on Google.
As per Khirwar’s “Transfer and Posting” order, he was sent to Ladakh as Principal Secretary. He had informed to go on duty on 4th July. However, he went on leave after serving “a few days”, sources in the UT administration said, adding that his departments are now looked after by other officials. “He has taken a long leave. His leave was approved by the Lieutenant Governor (Radha Krishna Mathur),’ said a top official of the Ladakh administration. The official declined to divulge further details about Khirwar’s leave, saying it was “personal”.
State government sources said Dhugga had joined duty in Arunachal Pradesh on June 27 and was appointed as the principal secretary of indigenous affairs. A senior state government official said that she went on leave of 70 days after joining. “He was given leave by the chief minister himself,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
A central government source said the IAS couple was on leave, not in Delhi, when the transfer order came from the Home Ministry. The source said it took a month for the couple to report their work after returning to Delhi.
As per rules, an officer gets 15 days to report on duty from the day of transfer order. AGMUT cadre officers, who serve in ‘difficult areas’, are entitled to special incentives from the time of reporting.