Delhi Principal Health Secretary Absent From Crucial Meetings, Says He Was 'Not Unrepresented'

New Delhi: In the second week of September, the AAP government came in for massive criticism for the absence of most ministers from Delhi in the face of a possible outbreak of vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tried to pass the blame on to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung asking why the Principal Health Secretary was allowed to go on leave during that time. In the Supreme Court, too, the AAP government argued that some officers refuse to take instructions from ministers and do not attend meetings. These meetings were held after Principal Health Secretary Chandrakar Bharti resumed charge after returning from leave.

Documents available with CNN-News18 show that the Principal Health Secretary did not attend as many as 11 crucial meetings, including review meetings on fire safety services, in Delhi’s government hospitals and Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics of the government.

For instance, on October 10, Health Minister Satyendar Jain chaired a review meeting of Directorate General of Health Services. On the agenda was the progress of Burari, Dwarka and Ambedkar Nagar hospital projects. Ten people, including doctors and officers and Special Secretary Health and Family Welfare, Rashmi Krishnan, attended that meeting. But records show that the Principal Health Secretary was not present.

On the same day, the minister chaired three more meetings: a review meeting of Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics, another of the Delhi State Health Mission and a third one on the Delhi Health Corporation Limited. Records show Principal Health Secretary Bharti was not present in any of these meetings.

On October 17, Health Minister Jain chaired three meetings on facility management services and availability of medicines in hospitals and another on the Aam Aadmi Health Management System. Principal Health Secretary Bharti skipped all three meetings. On the 19th, in the wake of the fire tragedy at the SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar, Jain chaired a meeting to review the fire safety arrangements of Delhi hospitals. But the Principal Health Secretary was not present.

On October 3, Bharti skipped three meetings of the RDHS - Central, and RDHS-North and one more on the review of Ayush hospitals and health facilities.

When asked about this, Bharti told CNN-News18: "In many of the meetings I did not get the meeting notices. In case, I get a notice, I could be busy, I could be present at the court also, then, I send my officers. There is no meeting which is not represented."

Chandrakar Bharti had taken over from Tarun Seem after Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung turned down pleas of Manish Sisodia not to transfer the latter for a few months.