Negating The Supreme Court Order On Delhi
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2023-05-20 04:15:50
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The India Commentary view
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In a surprising move that shows that the NDA-ruled Centre has little respect for Supreme Court orders, democratic principles and federalism, the Central government brought in an ordinance that negates the Supreme Court order giving power to the Delhi government in matters of appointment and transfer of bureaucrats (except in police, land and public order services). The ordinance establishes a National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA) that will henceforth look into appointment and transfer of all bureaucrats in Delhi. The Chief Minister of Delhi (who will be the chairperson of the body), the Chief Secretary and the Principal Home Secretary will be the members of NCCSA where decisions will be made on majority voting and in case of any dispute the Lieutenant Governor of NCR will be the final arbiter.
This totally negates the Supreme Court order which clearly said that a democratically-elected government must have control over the bureaucracy in order to make officers report to the concerned ministers and make them accountable. If the government has no control over the bureaucracy, it will find it hard to implement its policies. It also means that the elected government in Delhi is saddled with responsibility but does not have the power to fulfill it as the officers, who implement policies on the ground, are not under its control. This situation cannot be allowed to exist. The Supreme Court had rectified it but the Centre's new ordinance has nullified it once again. If the Centre needs to have complete control over the National Capital Region, the need is for a new law doing away with the sham of having an elected government in Delhi and bringing the entire area under Central control.
