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# Delhi

Delhi govt moves SC against NGT for naming LG on waste management panel

The Delhi government has submitted that the green tribunal’s order violates the Constitutional scheme of governance in Delhi as well as the 2018 and 2023 orders of the Constitution Bench of SC.

Statesman News Service | New Delhi | May 31, 2023 4:42 pm

Delhi govt moves SC against NGT for naming LG on waste management panel

SC quashes proceedings against Karnataka Dy CM Shivakumar in PMLA case

The Delhi government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) decision to appoint the Lieutenant Governor (LG) as the Chairman of the High-Level Committee on Solid Waste Management.

The Delhi government has urged the Supreme Court to quash the NGT order dated February 16. The Delhi government has submitted that the order violates the Constitutional scheme of governance in Delhi as well as the 2018 and 2023 orders of the Constitution Bench of SC. Through its order, the NGT had established this committee, comprising various authorities in Delhi, to address the problem of Solid Waste Management, with the LG, a mere figurehead of the state, as its Chairman.

“This Committee also comprises of the Chief Secretary, Delhi, Secretaries of the Irrigation, Forest and Environment, Agriculture, and Finance Departments, Government of Delhi, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi Jal Board, Vice Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority, Secretary or his nominee in Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, DG Forest or his nominee, MoEF&CC, Government of India, Secretary, MoJS or his nominee, MoEF&CC, DG NMCG and Chairman CPCB,” the Delhi government said in the statement on Wednesday.

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In its petition, the Delhi government has recognised the need for interdepartmental coordination to address Solid Waste Management issues and implement remedial measures, but it has strongly objected to the executive powers granted to the LG through the NGT’s order. These powers encroach upon areas exclusively under the competence of the elected government of Delhi. “NGT has appointed the Lt. Governor as the chairman of a committee when there was absolutely no statutory or constitutional power conferred upon the Lt. Governor to chair such a committee,” the petition reads.

In its appeal, the Delhi government contended that according to the administrative structure in Delhi and the provisions of Article 239AA of the Constitution, the LG serves as a nominal figurehead, except in matters pertaining to land, public order, and police, where the LG exercises powers delegated by the Constitution.

The Delhi government acknowledged the importance of a coordinated approach, but it asserted that the language used in the NGT order sidelines the elected government. The plea explains that granting executive powers to an authority that lacks the constitutional mandate to possess them undermines the elected government’s rightful jurisdiction.

According to Article 239AA of the Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is bound to act solely based on the aid and advice of the council of ministers, led by the Chief Minister. It has been a well-established constitutional principle for the past 50 years that the powers vested in a nominal and unelected head of state should only be exercised under the “aid and advice” of the Council of Ministers.

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# India

Water woes: Delhi LG accuses Atishi of using death of woman for pol gains

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Tuesday wrote an open letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, expressing displeasure over Water Minister Atishi's letter to him alleging that she has chosen to use an unfortunate death of a woman for narrow political gains. LG in his letter to Kejriwal alleged that the minister drew a conclusion based on news reports and resorted to blame game, where she had underlined inadequate water supply as the cause behind the incident, despite the police still probing the circumstances of the tragic death. The LG termed her note addressed to him as a prima facie admission of guilt, inaction and inefficiency over the past ten years. He pointed out that the unfortunate incident was not the only such case of its kind in Delhi, but many such incidents happened in the past due to the government's failure, he claimed. Mentioning that the water minister has again targeted the Chief Secretary who is also DJB CEO and officers of Finance and UD, the LG alleged that the Delhi ministers have time and again blamed officers for their own failures in different situations. The LG further highlighted facts brought in the economic survey 2023- 24 tabled by Finance Minister, and informed CM that water treatment over the last decade grew marginally from 906 MGD to 946 MGD, which was barely 4.4 per cent increase, while during the same period Delhi's population has significantly grown by 15 per cent, LG added. He mentioned that of the total water supplied, 120 MGD comes from the ground water, which he claimed was exaggeration, adding that out of the 16 Ranney Wells, five are non functional. LG in his open letter to CM also mentioned that water leakages through transmission and distribution losses, theft and other factors have seen a sharp spike from 45 per cent in 2015 to 58 per cent in 2022- 23. Net water availability over the last decade has decreased by more than 100 MGD due to criminal neglect by the Delhi government, LG alleged. The LG has also claimed in his letter to CM that the rich are getting an abundant supply of water which is nearly 35 buckets per person, while poor colonies' water supply is less than 50 litre per person on a daily basis. He also said he was dismayed and disturbed while addressing budget session where his speech approved by the CM mentioned that 7 percent of households in the city do not receive piped water supply, which also is a gross understatement of the problem, Saxena claimed, adding that during his visits to slums and unauthorised colonies and rural areas it was evident that the magnitude was far greater, he added, further questioning as to whether this was the world class city which the Delhi government has been promising the citizens since a decade. LG also questioned and pointed that instead of fixing the water supply issues, CM and his ministers created a chimera of free water, alleging that deception of people was mastered by the ministers. He further expressed that in the present circumstances CM would not be able to do much about the situation, except to reflect and introspect.