Delhi govt’s workhorse: Sisodia ran 18 depts, piloted flagship schemes

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s work load had almost doubled after the arrest of senior cabinet member Satyendra Jain in an alleged case of money laundering

The Delhi Budget, beautification of major road arteries ahead for G20 summit, expansion of sewage treatment network and cleaning of the Yamuna are likely to hit in the aftermath of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia who was incharge of at least 18 key government departments.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia during a roadshow from his Mathura Road residence to Raj Ghat en route the CBI office for his questioning in the liquor policy case on Sunday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

Being the deputy chief minister and incharge of AAP government’s flagship schemes across sectors of education, health, public infrastructure, water and sewage, etc, Sisodia was the most important cog in the AAP’s governance wheel.

As state finance minister, Sisodia had been preparing Budget for 2023-24, and was expected to present it in the third week of March. In fact, he had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to postpone summons for questioning on Feburary 17, citing Budget preparations.The agency later issued fresh summons for February 26, senior government officials said.

Sisodia’s work load had almost doubled after the arrest of senior cabinet member Satyendra Jain in an alleged case of money laundering. As of February 26, Sisodia was heading portfolios of education, finance, planning, health, power, urban development, public works department, land & building, vigilance, services, tourism, art, culture & language, labour, employment, industries, home, irrigation and flood control, water, and all other departments not specifically allotted to any minister, senior government officials said.

Delhi has seven ministers including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. With Jain already in jail and Sisodia also under arrest, Delhi cabinet is left with only five ministers, including the chief minister. If Sisodia does not get bail, the chief minister may have to reshuffle his cabinet and distribute the massive work load that Sisodia had been shouldering.

A spokesperson for the Delhi government did not respond to request for comment.

However,AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “The arrest of Manish Sisodia is also one of the conspiracies to derail the functioning of the AAP government in Delhi.”

A senior government official who asked not to be named said that the preparations for the annual budget 2023-24 were “at a very advanced stage” and consultations were on. He said that the absence of the minister during the advanced stage of budget preparations is likely to make the process “challenging”. “The minister chairs most of the meetings and takes crucial decisions about sector-wise allocation of funds, and deduction of funds to some departments based on the overall revenue collection estimates,” the official said.

The official said that only the minister who holds the charge of the finance department can present the Budget in the assembly. “If Sisodia gets bail, he can present the budget in the assembly. The Budget must be presented in the assembly and passed before the end of the financial year (March 31, 2023),” the official added.

Besides finance, as the state education minister Sisodia had been pushing for the government school teachers to be sent abroad for training, besides piloting projects related to state universities.

His arrest may also delay some crucial infrastructure projects. The immediate impact is likely to be on the reopening of Ashram flyover, work on which almost complete. Officials aware of the matter said they the inauguration of the project may now get delayed. Besides, PWD is also building a new flyover parallel to the existing one at Sarai Kale Khan. Work on new three-lane flyover, addition of lanes to two existing flyovers and extension of a third one between west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh and Raja Garden.

As the minister incharge of water, he had been holding meetings with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to expand sewage network that is key to stop pollution of Yamuna. The board is also working on adding capacity and setting up new sewage treatment plants.

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