the story So Far: The National Capital Territory of Delhi Government (Amendment) Bill, 2021 It was introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Bill clarifies the expression “government” and addresses “ambiguities” in legislative provisions as its main objectives. Amendments have been proposed in four sections of the three-decade-old predecessor, outlining Delhi’s status as a union territory, Government National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991. Legislation was enacted in 1992 to supplement the constitutional provisions for the Legislative Assembly and Council of Ministers for the NCT of Delhi.
What are some of the proposed changes?
The amendment, according to the Bill, is intended to promote “a cordial relationship between the legislature and the executive” and provide for the rules made by the Legislative Assembly of Delhi to “conform to the rules of the House of the People” or to the Lok Sabha. . The bill also seeks to define the responsibilities of the elected government and the Lt. Governor, along with the NCT’s Constitutional Plan of Governance, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in recent decisions regarding the division of powers between the two entities.
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The amendments also seek to ensure that the Lieutenant Governor is “necessarily given an opportunity” to exercise the powers entrusted to him under clause (4) of Article 239AA of the Constitution. The clause provides for the NCT to “assist and advise the Lieutenant Governor” to the Council of Ministers headed by a Chief Minister, in which the Legislative Assembly has the power to make laws.
How did this come about?
The bill originated in the wake of lies between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) -led Delhi government and the then Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung in 2015, soon after coming to power for a second term in the East. Refused to send files about three reserved subjects – land, police and public order – to the Chief Minister’s Office.
Between early 2015 and August 2016, several orders issued by the Delhi government such as the transfer of bureaucrats, the establishment of inquiry commissions and the administration of the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), were either declared void or this Not being constitutionally empowered to take such decisions, LG cited lack of approval from its office, citing procedural lacunae.
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The issue of which entity was taken to the Delhi High Court by the “competent authority” Delhi government, which in August 2016 held that LG had “full control” of NCT-related matters and “nothing will happen” without LG’s consent. However, the decision was that LG was bound by the assistance and advice of the Council of Ministers on a matter. The Delhi government then moved the Supreme Court.
On July 4, 2018, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, noting that there is no place for anarchy or absolutism in a democracy, stated that “the real right to decide lies in the elected government”. The government of the NCT also needs to govern, only to get LG to “consent” in every issue of daily governance, rather than informing them of their “considered” decisions. However, the case did not end here.
On February 14, 2019, a two-judge bench held a hearing on the issue of services – transfer and posting of bureaucrats – and the ruling on the ACB gave a separate verdict. The judgment stated that while LG was free to form an opinion on any matter “any” did not mean in every “trifling matter” and not to interfere in matters fundamental to LG regularly but only to Delhi should do. It is also believed that LG should not hold files but respect the wisdom of the Cabinet of Ministers of Delhi. Two years later, on 3 February 2021, the Union Cabinet approved the Bill to be introduced in Parliament during the budget session.
What difference does it make?
Some experts believe that the amendment will change the capital’s administrative clock back for several decades and take it back to the era of the Delhi Metropolitan Council, which is primarily considered a municipal body, and the democratic and constitutional of the citizens of the city “Takes away” the right. Vote those who are fit to administer them. Other experts argue that the elected government of Delhi has always been a local administrative body headed by LG as an administrator. Experts on both sides of this argument agree that the proposed amendment paid off the state question for Delhi, which was demanded by every major political player in the capital, including the AAP, BJP and Congress.
The Council was the predecessor of the Delhi Legislative Assembly and served as a deliberate wing of the Delhi administration between 1966 and 1990. The Council was headed by the Administrator, initially known as the Chief Commissioner, but after the Delhi Administration Act was passed in 1966, the post was designated as the Lieutenant Governor. The Chief Executive Councilor served as the Leader of the House in the Council and the post was similar to the present post of the Chief Minister of Delhi. The person occupying it, along with three other executive councilors, was appointed by the President to “aid and advise” the LG on the state or concurrent list.
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The new bill states that the 1991 Act did not provide for any structural arrangement for the effective and time bound implementation of section 44, which relates to the conduct of business, which the bill would provide. It will aim to provide clarity on what motions or cases are required to be presented to the LG before issuing orders on them, clarifying the “expressive” government by the Supreme Court to explain the structure of governance in the NCT Affect. In the context of a law to be passed by the Legislative Assembly of Delhi, “Lieutenant Governor” means “in conformity with the position of Delhi as the Central Government”.
The immediate effect of the bill would be to cancel several committees created in the Delhi Assembly on administrative issues in the last six years, allowing direct dialogue between legislators and bureaucrats.
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what lies ahead?
The Delhi government has termed the bill as an instrument used by the BJP-led Center to curtail its powers through unfair means. It has also been alleged that the Bill is a way to prevent the implementation of the “Kejriwal Model” of governance in the areas of health, education and social welfare, from making progress in other parts of the country.
Apart from appealing the Center to withdraw it, the AAP has already alleged in the streets that it belies the electoral will of the people of the city. Meanwhile, the Delhi government, according to sources, is preparing to challenge the bill in court.
On its part, the opposition BJP has welcomed the bill on the grounds that the AAP government was acting in “unconstitutional ways”. The Parliament, the BJP argues, is going to fulfill the Supreme Court’s directive to amend the NCT of the Delhi Act to remove constitutional ambiguities between the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor and speed up the “pace of development” in the city.
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