Delhi Assembly’s Rules Committee, chaired by Speaker Vijender Gupta has agreed in principle to the proposal for establishing an independent secretariat and granting financial autonomy to the Vidhan Sabha.

The committee is expected to submit its report regarding the proposal in the forthcoming Monsoon Session of the assembly, where the same will be tabled in the House, sources said.

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The proposal is aimed at strengthening the institutional framework of the Delhi Vidhan Sabha in accordance with the constitutional principle of separation of powers, which has formally been set in motion.

Delhi assembly’s rules committee comprises of speaker Gupta as the Chairperson, Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht, and members Ashok Goel, Shikha Roy, Sandeep Sehrawat, Umang Bajaj, Jarnail Singh, Pavaesh Ratn, and Virender Singh Kadian.

Since the Delhi assembly’s constitution in the year 1993, it has functioned without a dedicated secretarial cadre or financial independence.

Unlike the Parliament and state Legislatures, where the Speaker has authority over appointments and administrative matters, the Delhi Assembly relies on officers deputed from various government departments, and this dependency has led to operational inefficiencies and curtailed functional autonomy.

Gupta, acknowledging this important concern, has proposed in the meeting the establishment of a separate legislative secretariat and financial autonomy for the house.

The Speaker’s proposal aligns with Articles 98 and 187 of the Constitution, which ensure such provisions for Parliament and state legislatures respectively.

At present, three Union Territories have an assembly of their own, including Delhi, Puducherry and the newly formed Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.

Out of these, the Delhi assembly alone was created as a Constitutional Body whereas the Puducherry and J&K Legislatures are statutory bodies which were created by the ‘Government of Union Territories Act, 1963’ and ‘Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019’ respectively.

However, no such provision for a separate secretariat was made for the Delhi Assembly either in the Constitution or in the Government of NCT of Delhi Act, 1991.

In light of Article 239 AA(b) of the Constitution—which empowers Parliament to regulate matters related to the functioning of the Delhi Legislative Assembly—it has been proposed that the Rules Committee may recommend an amendment to the GNCTD Act, 1991.

This would enable the formation of a separate secretariat and grant financial autonomy to the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, bringing it at par with state legislatures and the UT of J&K.