The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
State’s government, Centre’s rule
Coaching centre tragedy points to the many ways in which governance in Delhi is hobbled by the Centre’s meddling
THE DEATH OF three UPSC aspirants amidst unprecedented rains in Delhi — due to waterlogging and subsequent flooding of the basement of an IAS coaching centre — has shocked the nation. Reports have revealed that the centre was using a basement to conduct classes in blatant violation of building byelaws and the storm water drain along the road was also encroached upon and covered, making the passage of water difficult. These facts raise deep questions on the greed of the coaching industry, profiting by risking their students’ lives, and the role of the municipal bodies that allow such violations to persist.
The incident also brought to the fore the unpreparedness of the National Capital to handle heavy rains, sparking a debate between the AAP- ruled Delhi government and BJP- ruled Centre. Amidst these events, a shocking video surfaced of a review meeting held by a group of AAP ministers on June 28 where the status of desilting of Delhi’s drains in preparation for monsoons was discussed. In it, senior- most officers of the Delhi government, including the Chief Secretary ( CS) and PWD secretary, were shown video evidence that Delhi’s drains weren’t desilted — even as officials claimed otherwise on files.
When asked by Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj to join him on a field inspection to ascertain the truth, the PWD secretary said he would be busy with meetings that day and refused to commit any time. Reportedly, when the same Minister asked the CS in May 2024 to share the status of desilting of drains, the CS wrote back saying that the matter was under the consideration of the Delhi High Court to which reports had been submitted. In his note to the Minister, the CS also questioned why the minister desired to review the matter when it was under the consideration of the High Court and that he isn’t obliged to respond to the elected government.
Anywhere else in India, such defiance of an elected government would have led to the dismissal of officers. But not in Delhi. Yet, this isn’t the first instance. The last few years of the AAP government in Delhi have been marked by an unprecedented and undemocratic assault on its powers by the BJP- ruled Centre that has few parallels in independent India. The BJP has been unable to digest the AAP’S historic mandate of 2015 and 2020 in Delhi and its rise as a national party. The Lt Governor ( LG) of Delhi — the Centre’s appointee — has time and again undermined Delhi’s elected government by weaponising the bureaucracy. A prime example is the LG’S decision a month ago to dissolve the Dialogue and Development Commission ( DDC), the policy think tank of the Delhi government.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s brainchild, the DDC was established soon after the AAP government came to power in 2015 with a mandate to study innovations globally and advise the government in finding sustainable, people- centric solutions to the critical developmental challenges facing Delhi. Over the past nine years, the DDC has served as a fountainhead for some of the flagship and innovative initiatives implemented by the AAP government, as documented in its publication 70 Innovations,
Redefining Governance. For instance, the DDC led the process of formulation of the landmark Delhi Electric Vehicles Policy 2020, Delhi Solar Energy Policy 2024, Tree Transplantation Policy 2020, and the Rozgar Bazaar jobs portal for Delhi’s blue- collar workers in the middle of the Covid- 19 pandemic, among several other reforms.
The DDC could play this role because, right from its inception, it has functioned under the sole jurisdiction of Delhi’s elected chief minister, who acted as its chairman. Official notifications giving the Delhi CM the sole jurisdiction over the DDC were approved by the Delhi Cabinet and the previous two LGS of Delhi, Najeeb Jung and Anil Baijal. Yet the present LG, V K Saxena, ordered the bureaucracy to dissolve the commission.
On earlier occasions too, the present LG has breached jurisdictional boundaries to hinder the smooth functioning of the Delhi government. In July 2023, the LG removed over 400 professionals and consultants engaged by Delhi government, including the young professionals engaged under the CM fellowship scheme from top global universities, including IITS and IIMS. In late 2023, the LG ordered the stoppage of salaries and subsequent removal of all contractual staff of Delhi Commission for Women ( DCW), bringing their work to a grinding halt. The message behind these actions is clear: The BJP- ruled Centre, acting through the LG, is determined to abuse all powers at its disposal to cripple the functioning of the AAP government.
The reason it is able to do this is because the Centre has usurped control over Delhi’s bureaucracy in a blatant violation of the historic 5- 0 verdict of a CJI- led constitutional bench of the Supreme Court in May 2023, coming after an arduous eight- year legal battle, that ruled that the officers in Delhi have to follow the directions of the elected government. However, setting aside constitutional morality, the Centre passed an ordinance within eight days, and subsequently a law, nullifying the SC decision. As per this new law, officers in Delhi only need to follow directions of Delhi LG. The AAP government has challenged the constitutionality of this law in the SC, but the matter is yet to be listed — it has been 14 months. The BJPruled Centre has used this opportunity to launch a frontal attack on the AAP government by weaponising the bureaucracy.
How long will this siege of the elected government in the National Capital continue? This is a question that will be determined only by the Supreme Court.
The writer is the vice chairperson of Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi and senior AAP leader