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Events
& Issues
New Delhi, 24 August 2016
Political
Tug-of-War
DELHI TAKES A BEATING
By Dr S Saraswathi
(Former Director,
ICSSR, New Delhi)
Delhi, the nation’s Capital, has been the
biggest loser in the tug-of-war between Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and
Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung. This follows the recent verdict of the High Court,
wherein the Aam Admi Party’s dream of elevating the constitutional status of Delhi received a death blow with the court asserting that
the LG is its “administrative head” and Delhi
will continue to be a Union
Territory.
The court has also set aside the AAP’s contention that the LG
should act “only on the aid and advice of the ministers”. Thus, the LG’s
position is re-confirmed as the ultimate authority in the State – a position
made more powerful after the establishment of the National Capital
Territory by a
constitutional amendment in 1991. The verdict was decisive as the court
unambiguously stated that in matters in which the Assembly can make laws, the Ministry’s
decisions should be communicated to the LG, and implemented only if LG did not
disagree.
The LG has immediately ordered scrutiny of all major
decisions and appointments made by the AAP government, and all orders of the
autonomous bodies, corporations and other institutions under the Delhi Government
issued so far without reference to him and without his concurrence wherever it
is required under the Constitution.
Like other metropolises, Delhi has various authorities, but under
different masters. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is an elected body
with Mayor as its head. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is governed by a
Council with a chairman appointed by the Centre and includes the Chief
Minister. The LG, who is the head of the National Capital
Territory, is also the
Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority, which reports to the Union Urban
Development Ministry. Delhi Police falls under the Union Home Ministry. Six
different agencies handle public amenities like drains, sewerage, and water
pipes, and five civic bodies, and the PWD maintains roads.
The division of power creates some problems in functioning
and these get aggravated when political and personnel differences are allowed
to interfere in development and welfare work.
When parties are keen on fighting for power, public good takes a back
seat yielding place to a political tug-of-war for primacy and power. Scoring
points in verbal battle and legal disputes often becomes the preoccupation of
political leaders.
The court also did not accept the plea that the present
tussle is a “classic” federal dispute. The present tendency of State
governments to present every difference between the Centre and a State as a
federal dispute is overruled. There may be sound arguments for granting or not
full statehood. These have to be debated and examined as a separate question.
But, the present controversy is over the existing powers of the Delhi government and its
administrative head -- the Lieutenant Governor.
It is undemocratic to assert and act on that assertion that
massive majority won in a General election grants massive powers going beyond
those granted by the Constitution. Between elected legislative bodies and the
Constitution, the latter is supreme. It can be amended, but not ignored or
violated.
The Delhi
government sought clarity on the ratio of power between its Cabinet and the NDA
government at the Centre from the Supreme Court by filing a suit. But, the
court refused to hear the suit and asked the Delhi government first to appeal against the
High Court verdict before seeking clarification of its powers.
However, it has stated that UTs are administered by the
Centre, but it doesn’t mean they become merged with the Centre. Its observation
that they “retain their independent identity” is crucial for further
examination of Delhi’s
status. This came while dealing with the practice of exempting Central
government properties in Delhi
from municipal taxation.
Kejriwal seems to be bent on getting full Statehood for Delhi – a demand which
all political parties at one time or other and particularly during elections
have advocated. Powerlessness is felt
by the Delhi Government in lack of control over the police and lack of power to
sanction land for various purposes. Indeed, administration of Delhi is run by different public authorities
without a unified command. Some are elected, and others placed under the Delhi State
or Union Government.
The National Capital Region (NCR) created in 1991 and given
a special status under 69th amendment of the Constitution covers the
metropolitan area of the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi including New Delhi and designated
urban areas surrounding it in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. It is one
of the biggest agglomerations in the world.
A survey of administrative divisions of Capital cities
reveals a variety of arrangements. These are called State, city, town,
district, region, special municipality, federal district, special zone,
independent city, province, prefecture, autonomous commune and so on.
Australian capital Canberra
is a capital territory, whereas Canada’s
Ottawa is part of the province
of Ontario and Quebec. Indonesia’s
capital Jakarta
constitutes a special capital region. Argentina’s Buenos Aires
is an autonomous city while Peru’s
Lima is a
province. London
is a capital region. In the US,
Washington DC is a federal district.
Canberra governed by the Australian
Territory Act (ACT) doesn’t give full legislative independence as for other
States. Laws are made in the Legislative Assembly that has both State and local
functions. The Chief Minister, who is also a member of the Council of the
Australian Government, is elected by members of the ACT Assembly. ACT has no
administrator as in other States.
The administrative arrangement for the capital territory
broadly falls into three types – separate administrative district, dual status
as city and province, equal status with other cities in the nation.
Conflict is not uncommon in capital areas over
administrative jurisdiction. The local government of the Capital is said to be
“in the shadow of the national government with more restricted powers and
resources than those enjoyed by other cities”. Capital cities have exposed two kinds
of conflicts – one, regarding the extent of power and autonomy of the local
government, and the other, over the method of resolving disputes.
Delhi is compelled to grow enormously in
physical size due to congregation and expansion of several activities and
consequently of population size. Even sports, international film festivals and trade
fairs and such big events prefer to have their show in Delhi. The city is the headquarters for many
research councils and academic bodies which can be housed in any State in India. Even
retired officials with no particular business in the Capital city like to
settle in Delhi.
All such developments go against the spirit of building the
nation’s Capital as a special place with some special functions and end up
making the Capital territory another State in the federation with additional
responsibilities. The present tussle is mainly caused by allowing Delhi to grow without any
check.
Some countries have multiple capitals in the form of
distribution of functions in different places.
Paris is the seat of Parliament, but
joint Congress is held in the Palace
of Versailles. In South Africa,
legislative, administrative, and judicial functions have their headquarters in
different places. In the US,
Capital remains the seat of government and several cities have become centres
for various purposes.
Surprisingly, no thought is given to the possibility of moving
some activities unconnected with parliamentary and central secretarial work
away from Delhi.
Less congested Delhi
will have lesser problems and fewer activities will reduce its attraction to
power seekers! ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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