Delhi govt panel says Asha Kiran shelter home facing staff crunch

The petition committee of the Delhi government said on Monday said that Asha Kiran, a shelter home for the intellectually challenged where 14 inmates died in July, is facing a large shortage of staff, including medical staff.
Kuldeep Kumar, a member of the committee, said in a press conference at the Delhi assembly that they were told about the staff crunch by officials of the shelter home.
“We have come to know that there is a big shortage of staff in the shelter home. It has also come to the notice of the petition committee that in this shelter home, there are 33 auxiliary nurses and midwives, and two general duty medical officers whose contracts have not been renewed since March and April. So, the LG should immediately release their six months’ salary and their contract should be renewed,” Kumar said in the press conference.
The petition committee is conducting an enquiry into the deaths of inmates at the shelter. According to the report submitted by the social welfare secretary to the lieutenant governor on August 2, at least 28 inmates have died at the shelter home since January 2024. Of the 14 who died in July, 13 were adults and one was a minor.
“The committee will investigate the staff shortage by calling more officials. Services in Delhi are under LG. Therefore, the responsibility of transfer posting of officers is his. He should not run away from his responsibility,” Kuldeep Kumar said.
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The committee on August 3 visited the shelter home and found that the inmates were not being provided adequate food, clean water or proper in-house healthcare. The visit followed a series of developments last week, including probes ordered by the Delhi government and lieutenant governor to look into the allegations of neglect and mismanagement at the facility.
Kumar said that a “corrupt officer” was appointed as the administrator of the shelter home by the LG without consulting the Delhi government.
“The data received from the officials in this meeting showed that VK Saxena became the LG in May 2022 and on October 4, 2022, he appointed an officer who was suspended for five years for taking bribes…The appointment of the administrator in the Asha Kiran shelter home was made without the suggestion of any minister of the Delhi government and no file was sent to any minister. Therefore, the question arises how did the LG hand over the responsibility of such a big shelter home to an officer who was suspended for five years, and a CBI case was registered against him in 2016?” Kumar said.
The petition committee of the Delhi assembly can conduct an inquiry into matters of public interest on a petition submitted to the speaker or presented in the assembly. The committee can summon officials and people concerned during its proceedings. It submits the final report to the speaker or presents it in the assembly. The assembly can discuss the report and recommend action against those it finds guilty to the government.