In new pecking order, L-G to retain law, land
NEW DELHI: After the Union home ministry notified the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) (Amendment) Act, 2021 on Wednesday, the office of Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) late evening issued an order asking the Delhi government to seek opinion of the L-G before the Cabinet or any of its minister takes any executive action with regard to matters related to land, police, law and order, subordinate legislations, granting of parole, Delhi finance commission, establishment or re-constitution of statutory bodies and matters specified under Rule 23 of the ‘Transaction of Business of the GNCTD Rules, 1993’.
A month after Parliament passed the bill on March 24 giving sweeping powers to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor (LG), the Centre on Wednesday notified the law that makes his prior opinion a must before every executive action by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, and every legislative action by the state assembly.
Senior officials said that the notification is going to set new protocols for the Delhi Cabinet and all bureaucrats as the “Transaction of Business of the GNCTD Rules, 1993” are going to be amended for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The order issued by the L-G office specified in three points as to which areas the Delhi Cabinet and individual ministers will have to seek prior opinion of L-G Anil Baijal. None of the subjects, however, seemed to be excessively out of the areas over which the L-G already has control.
“.... the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, hereby specifies the following matters for obtaining opinion of the L-G .... before taking any executive action in pursuance of the decision of the Council of ministers or a minister...,” read the order.
“The matters falling under any law, made by the Parliament or extended to the national Capital by the Central government, with respect to any matter enumerated in the state list or concurrent list of
the seventh schedule of the Constitution,” it stated.
The Delhi government did not comment on the matter, but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said it “really hoped” that the central government would have waited at least till the current wave of Covid-19 abated to enforce the Act.
In a statement, the AAP said, “Delhi is in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis and by notifying this right in the middle of the second wave, it can lead to a lot of chaos. This could definitely adversely affect Covid management in the national Capital.”
“Under the leadership of CM Kejriwal, we are working on every possible aspect to tackle the second wave of Covid. The Central government and the Delhi government are working together. But such a notification will bring a lot of confusion and when the work is going on war footing the last thing people can expect is chaos and confusion in the administration,” the AAP said.
On Wednesday, even as the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) notified the amended GNCTD Act, Delhi government officials said they were too busy in Covid-19 management to find out about the intricacies of the new law.
“Now is not the time for all this. From the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) to the chief minister, everyone
is closely monitoring aspects such as oxygen supply to hospitals, Covid-19 deaths, augmentation of beds and so on. Bureaucrats cannot afford to be caught up in politics during such a crisis, everyone knows that. So, what the government is doing to contain Covid is a collective effort and that is what Delhi needs right now,” said one of the top officials of the Delhi government, wishing not to be named.
NO IMMEDIATE CHANGES
While L-G Anil Baijal’s office did not comment on the matter, a senior official in his office said nothing can change on the ground until a fresh set of transaction of business rules (TBR) is issued by the MHA.
“For a start, the L-G has scheduled a Covid-19 review meeting tomorrow (Thursday). But, it is not because of this GNCTD Act. He has been holding such meetings from time to time. With regard to the GNCTD Act and what administrative changes it could bring, there is not much that can happen at the moment because there is lack of clarity on certain procedures and subjects where the L-G can have direct control. The MHA is likely to issue amended TBR in a few days after which things would be clearer,” the official said.
The key issues which the L-G wants to look into are the low testing numbers, reducing the waiting time at crematoriums and decreasing case fatalities, the official added.
However, a section of officers in the Delhi government said the law has created doubt among several officials but added that an immediate change in the plans was unlikely.
“The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) anyway has the L-G as its chairperson, so a major policy or strategy shift in terms of Delhi’s Covid response system is unlikely to happen as the Central government, to whom the L-G reports, is already providing help. More importantly, the Delhi high court is directly monitoring the situation and issuing orders from day to day in this regard,” said a second government official.
The current Covid wave has overwhelmed Delhi’s heath care infrastructure with hospitals sending out SOS messages while running out of medical oxygen and almost all beds taken up across hospitals. According to government’s Corona app data, only 18 ICU beds were available in the city at 9pm on Wednesday.
Constitution expert and former secretary of the Lok Sabha and the Delhi assembly SK Sharma said the biggest casualty of the Act is going to be the assembly. “It may well be disbanded in that case as the law now even raises questions over the validity and necessity of having the Question hour in the House. The law will impact the assembly in more way than just taking away the rights of the committees set up by the House,” he said.
PDT Achary, former secretarygeneral of Lok Sabha said Under ART.239AA of the constitution and as per the interpretation given by the Supreme Court the government means the L-G aided and advised by the Council of ministers. “It simply means the executive power is vested in the Council of ministers. This being so the definition contained in the new Act, namely, government means the L-G has no special significance. The Act cannot override the constitution and also the interpretation of law by the Supreme Court.”