Events & Issues
New Delhi, 1 April 2021
Delhi Government
BEYOND PARTY POLITICS
By Dr S. Saraswathi
(Former Director, ICSSR, New Delhi)
Parliament passed the Government of National
Capital Territory (Amendment) Bill on 24 March
and the President has given his assent on 28th which
practically places the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi on a pedestal far more
important than he is at present in the governance of the capital city. The Bill
states clearly that the government in the national capital means the
“Lieutenant-Governor”. Hereafter, Delhi Government will have to seek the assent
of the LG without fail before taking any executive action.
No wonder, AAP is extremely shocked at this
sudden clipping of its wings as a step in effect equal to “dismissing” the
elected Delhi government. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called it “unconstitutional
and undemocratic”. Many Opposition parties in Parliament -- Congress, SP, BJD,
YSR Congress, and others -- opposed the Bill and staged a walk-out.
But, the objects and reasons stated in the Bill
say that it aims at ending “the lack of clarity” on matters and proposals
required to be submitted to the LG before issuing orders -- a position that
takes us back to the NCR Act which is quite
The National Capital Region (NCR), one of the
biggest agglomeration in the world, was created in 1991 under Article 239AA
inserted in the Constitution by 69th amendment and given a special
status. It comprises the metropolitan areas of the entire National Capital
Territory of Delhi including New Delhi and some adjacent urban areas from Haryana,
Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The Act states that all executive actions of the LG,
whether taken on the advice of his Ministers or otherwise, shall be expressed
to be taken in the name of the LG.
The duties of the Delhi Chief Minister under
this Act included communicating all decisions of the Council of Ministers
relating to administration of the capital and proposals for legislation to the
LG; furnishing such information if called for by the LG, and submitting any
decision of a Minister for the consideration of the Council of Ministers if so required
by the LG.
The Aam Admi Party had been trying to raise
the status of Delhi ever since it came to power. Its efforts to get full statehood for Delhi
failed. The LG was declared the “administrative head” of the union territory of
Delhi by a high court verdict in 2016, under which ministers’ decisions should
be communicated to the LG and implemented only if the LG raised no objection.
It made possible scrutiny of all decisions of Delhi Government by the LG which were
taken without his concurrence. AAP as a political party and Delhi Government viewed
this as an undemocratic arrangement of placing an elected government below a
nominee of the Union government.
The powers of the LG, under Article 239 to act
independently of his Council of Ministers, were sustained by the ruling. The
court did not accept the plea that the tussle was a “classic” federal dispute.
But, a judgment of a five-judge bench of the
Supreme Court in 2018 held that the “real authority to take decisions lies in
the elected government” and ruled that the NCT government needed only
to inform the LG of its “well-deliberated” decisions instead of getting his
concurrence on every issue of day-to-day governance. The spirit of this was
reiterated in 2019 by the court that the LG should not intervene in “trifling
matters”. The ambit of the Union government is restricted to police, public
order, and land.
It is now surpassed by the Bill granting overwhelming
powers to the LG as envisaged in 1991 Act.
AAP government’s contention that LG should act only on the “aid and
advice of the ministers” is now rejected by law empowering the LG in having a
hand in all decisions of Delhi government. Under the new Bill, the LG is
“necessarily granted an opportunity” to give his/her opinion on every decision of the Delhi
Delhi in any case is governed by various bodies
under different authorities. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi headed by a
Mayor is an elected body. The Chairman of the New Delhi Municipal Council which
includes the CM is appointed by the Central government. The LG is the Chairman
of the Delhi Development Authority, which reports to the Union Urban
Development Ministry. Six different agencies handle public amenities such as drains,
sewerage, and water pipe.
Champions of State rights are quick to
perceive the present legislation as violation of the federal set up. Political
parties sitting in Opposition perceive this as curtailing the rights of a
democratically elected government and elevating Union government-nominated
governor. NCR is thus equated to other
States which are units of Indian federation. The fallacy lies in ignoring that
governing the national capital has certain special features. Delhi is the country’s
capital and not a province in India.
The issue is about administration of the national
capital which should be beyond party politics.
Unfortunately, politicians, academics, and journalists generally tend to
view this as a problem of party politics (presently as AAP-BJP fight) and fail
to look beyond at the question of administration of the capital territory of a
big nation.
The Constitution is certainly the reference
book, but not a sacred text that cannot be amended. It is not a perfect
document to remain untouched. Already, it has undergone 104 amendments.
Capitals in different countries form
different administrative units -- city, town, district, region, province, prefecture,
and so on -- and given different administrative status. Australian capital
Canberra has no full legislative powers. It is directly administered by the
Governor-General. Washington DC has
limited form of self-government under the Congress. Article 1 of the Constitution
empowers Congress to exercise exclusive legislative authority over the seat of
government. Indonesian capital Jakarta constitutes a special capital region. Brazilian
capital is a federal district. Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires is an
autonomous city.
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”.
Delhi has grown in territorial and population
size due to expansion of activities which obstructs its special functions as
the nation’s capital. Floating population tend to settle permanently and
effectively intrude into the special functions of the capital territory, thus reducing
it to the level of any other State. The present tussle is a result of this
development of Delhi which is mired in party politics and should be sorted out
by non-political thinkers.
Some countries have established multiple
capitals as headquarters of principal organs of government – legislature,
administration, and judiciary. In South Africa, legislative, administrative,
and judicial functions have their headquarters in different places. In the US,
capital city is the seat of the government only.
Political pressures for more power or grant
of statehood to the NCR are not likely to think of the special importance of
administering the national capital. The area surrounding the key functions of
the national government is better governed by the Union government rather than
as a unit of the Indian federation like any other State. –INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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