AAP govt does not share Cabinet notes timely, says LG; state lashes out

The provisions of the ToBR provide that a copy of the proposals and Cabinet notes to be placed before the Cabinet must be made available to the LG secretariat at least two days before the scheduled date of the Cabinet meeting.

The office of the Delhi’s lieutenant governor has accused the state government of not sharing the cabinet note ahead of the meeting of the council of ministers which, it claimed, is a violation of the transaction of business rules.

LG office in a note stated that the AAP government informed the LG about the Cabinet meeting only after it was over. (HT Archive)

According to officials in the LG office, the transaction of business rules mandate that cabinet proposals must be shared with the LG 48 hours in advance.

“Observing that the violation of Transaction of Business of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Rules, 1993 (ToBR), was not in the interest of transparent and accountable governance, the LG secretariat has written to the chief secretary, who is also secretary to the cabinet, to look into the issue and ensure adherence to laid down statutory provisions of the ToBR, both in letter and spirit. A copy of the same has been sent to the Secretary to CM as well,” stated LG office in a note.

The Delhi government, however, rubbished the allegation, saying the LG was acting like a “headmaster”. A Delhi government spokespersonsaid, “LG is acting like a primary school headmaster. He is always fighting, finding petty faults. We do not wish to fight with him. The government wishes to concentrate on public welfare.”

The allegation by LG office has come amid an escalating face-off between lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government over several issues such as the LG ordering investigation into Delhi excise policy, ACB probes against government officials and rejecting the proposed visit by the CM to Singapore. While the AAPgovernment has termed it interference by the LG, the latter has maintained that he was attempting to coordinate efforts for better governance.

The provisions of the ToRB provide that a copy of the proposals and cabinet notes which are to placed before the cabinet must be made available to the LG secretariat at least two days before the scheduled date of the cabinet meeting. “A significant number of such memorandums/proposals/cabinet notes are received just prior to the scheduled meeting of the cabinet or even after conclusion of such meetings, without recording any reason for such transgression of the ToBR. There are also many instances where such proposals/cabinet notes are placed before the cabinet directly and a copy of the same are not provided to LG secretariat at all,” the LG office said in a statement.

The statement said that the period of two days can be curtailed by the CM under Sub Rule (3) of Rule 13 of the ToRB ‘in case of urgency’, added that in neither of the cases any reason is provided for curtailment of the statutory period of at least two days.

“Out of the 234 proposals considered by the cabinet between April 2020 and July 15, 2022, 79 were received by the LG secretariat just a day before the scheduled cabinet meeting, 63 were received on day of the meeting and 40 proposals were received after the cabinet meeting was held. It is clear that the compliance of the ToBR in this matter happened only in 22% of the cases, while in 78% instances the ToBR was violated without any justification,” the LG office stated.