LG, CM to meet every Friday, talk problems affecting Delhi

The announcement, made by CM Arvind Kejriwal on Friday, came two days after his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused newly-appointed LG, Vinai Kumar Saxena, of ‘overstepping his jurisdiction’ by holding meeting with Delhi Jal Board officials.

New Delhi: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that he will hold weekly meetings with newly appointed lieutenant governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena as he ruled out any lack of coordination between the elected government and the LG, who is a representative of the Centre.

On May 27, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal called on lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena to congratulate the latter om his appointment (ANI Photo/LG Delhi Twitter)

“We will hold weekly meetings with the LG at 4pm on Fridays to deliberate on issues,” said the CM, who called on the LG at Raj Niwas on Friday evening.

The announcement comes two days after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused Saxena of “overstepping his jurisdiction” by holding meeting with Delhi Jal Board officials.

After the meeting, Kejriwal said that he has good coordination with the new LG, who took charge on May 26. “We discussed a range of issues including those pertaining to water (crisis) and sanitation... We had good discussion. We have good coordination and there is no problem,” said Kejriwal, after the meeting which continued for around 30 minutes.

Since it came to power, the Delhi government and the LG’s office, held by Saxena’s predecessors, have squared off on several issues, with the former often overruling decisions taken by the Kejriwal administration in what has been seen as a proxy for battle between the AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre.

Days after Saxena took charge, AAP MLA Atishi on Wednesday accused the LG of holding a meeting with DJB officials amid a water crisis caused by a drop in the Yamuna water level. “Law and order, Delhi Police, and now the municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD) falls under the jurisdiction of the LG, who is the Centre’s representative. On the other hand, Delhi’s elected government has jurisdiction over departments including electricity, water, education, health, and revenue, as confirmed by the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench,” pointed out Atishi as she urged the LG to let the Kejriwal government run the departments which fall under its purview.

Meanwhile, leader of opposition in Delhi assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and seven other MLAs also called on the LG on Friday, seeking the LG’s intervention in helping the areas they represent get better focus from the Delhi government in execution of development works.

“We informed the LG that the funds for various schemes are not being utilised in BJP MLAs’ constituencies. In our areas, for example, the government is not installing CCTV cameras. We have made several complaints, but the government has taken no action so far. The Delhi government is not spending any money on the development of unauthorised colonies in our areas either,” said Bidhuri.

Bidhuri added, “The amount sanctioned for development works should be evenly distributed; there should be no political discrimination.”

Bidhuri said that they informed the LG about the problem of water logging on agricultural land, especially in villages in the Najafgarh district. “There is no arrangement for the drainage of water from the fields in Rawata and a dozen other villages. The problem is that rainwater that flows in from Haryana as well as dirty water from nearby unauthorised colonies accumulates in these fields due to poor drainage infrastructure, leading to the destruction of crops. The Delhi government has not given any relief to these farmers,” he said.

BJP MLAs requested the LG to intervene and take up the matter with the Haryana government and also direct the government to provide drainage systems in villages.

Delhi government spokespersons did not respond to requests seeking comment.