Key Points
NDMC Chairman Manoj Dwivedi apologized on X for delayed waterlogging drainage in several areas after over 72mm of rain fell in under two hours on August 25, 2026.
Dwivedi, who took charge just weeks earlier, says he relies on citizen feedback via social media to get a more accurate picture of civic issues than official briefings alone provide.
Beyond waterlogging fixes, Dwivedi has launched the "Roko Toko" campaign to discourage public littering and promote civic cleanliness.
A RARE APOLOGY FROM A SENIOR BUREAUCRAT has sparked a discourse about government accountability and responsibility. A day after intense rain lashed across New Delhi leaving several regions severely waterlogged, Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer (IAS) and Chairman of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) Manoj K. Dwivedi issued a public apology for the failure of civil infrastructure in the city. Taking to social media platform X on August 26, 2026, the IAS officer apologized for the state authority's inability to drain the waterlogged areas after several hours. While acknowledging that a significant amount of rain fell in a short period of time, Dwivedi accepted this was not an excuse and promised to do better in the future.
“I sincerely apologise to everyone in the NDMC area who faced difficulties due to water logging instances on 25th August 2026. Usually we are able to clear the water logging within 15-20 minutes. But despite our best efforts in at least 3-4 areas water was fully drained out in more than an hour's time. There was more than 72 mm rainfall in less than 2 hours and this was quite unexpected. But this cannot be an excuse and we will have to strengthen our systems to deal with such situations in future,” the officer’s X post read.
IAS Dwivedi continued that the NDMC will undertake various short and long-term measures to address the issue. “Various short term & long term measures will be made to make the entire NDMC area fully water logging free. We will work to ensure that our citizens should not face any inconvenience in future. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome,” Dwivedi assured.
What's worth noting, is that IAS Dwivedi took charge of the NDMC just a few weeks ago in August 2026 itself, succeeding the previous chairman Keshav Chandra. Although Dwivedi’s apology was short, it has conveyed his commitment to maintaining accountability in administration.
The incident also provided an early glimpse into how the new NDMC chairman plans to manage the civic body. IAS Dwivedi has adopted social media platforms as a means of communicating with citizens, using which they can share their grievances and concerns. He has reiterated that social media gives him a genuine picture of the issues citizens face, something he may not be knowledgeable about if he depends upon official briefings as his source of information.
“If I go by what is reported to me by officials, I may not get the real picture. But via these platforms, I get what the expectations of the citizens are. We are responsible. The benchmark for the NDMC has to be set by the citizens who live in this area and not by me or the officials,” another X post of IAS Dwivedi read.
In addition to fixing waterlogging issues in the NDMC region, IAS Dwivedi has also announced initiatives aimed towards road cleaning, reducing littering, and civic beautification in the region. A recent initiative launched by him, named “Roko Toko,” aims to discourage public littering and to promote the use of dustbins to discard waste.
Manoj K Dwivedi is an 1997-batch IAS officer, originally belonging to the Jammu and Kashmir cadre. Later, it was bought under the AGMUT cadre — comprising states Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territories — administered centrally by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Born in Haryana, Dwivedi attained a Bachelor in Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
In September 1999, Dwivedi was posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, marking his first official posting in civil services. Later, he served as Additional Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and as Deputy Commissioner of Rajouri. He worked as the Director of the state’s Employment and Education Department, before becoming Deputy Commissioner of Leh and Ladakh in 2006. During 2009–2010, Dwivedi served as Deputy Commissioner of Jammu.
He then moved up in the administrative ladder and was appointed to the center, serving in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and later was appointed as Private Secretary to the then Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
In 2015, he was assigned to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, working as Joint Secretary and handling various responsibilities relating to export-import policy.
After working in the central government for quite some time, Dwivedi returned to the Jammu and Kashmir administration. He was appointed as Commissioner/Secretary in the Forest, Ecology, and Environment Department, and afterwards handled the Industries and Commerce Department.
In June 2020, he was given responsibility for the General Administration Department (GAD) and the Jammu and Kashmir Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural Development. He later became Principal Secretary of the GAD.
In August 2022, Dwivedi went to the Centre on deputation and was again assigned to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Three months later, he was promoted to the rank of Additional Secretary in the department. Dwivedi’s deputation was extended in 2025.
In August, 2026, Dwivedi was again sent back to his parent AGMUT cadre. On August 7, 2026, Dwivedi officially took charge of the NDMC, serving as Chairman of the state body.
(Edited by Agniva Ray)
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