With SC order, AAP projects in Delhi likely to get boost

The Supreme Court has ruled that the elected government in Delhi has control over officers posted in its administrative domains, and not the Centre. This is expected to boost several ambitious projects that had been hanging fire, which Delhi government officials had blamed on non-cooperation from bureaucrats. Some of the key projects that have been left pending include the redevelopment of five major markets in the city, the Delhi shopping festival, the development of a Dilli Bazaar portal, the development of an electronic city at Baprola, the Rozgar Bazaar portal 2.0, and a food truck policy.

New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the elected government in the national capital has control over officers posted in the administrative domains falling under it, and not the Centre — a judgment that is likely to tilt the scales in favour of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, which has been locked in a bruising fight with lieutenant governor.

The shift in power balance is also likely to speed up the pace of key infrastructure projects in the pipeline, officials said. (PTI)

The verdict is expected to give a boost to several ambitious projects that had been hanging fire, which Delhi government officials had blamed on non-cooperation from bureaucrats who implement the decisions in the administrative set-up, people aware of the matter said.

Some of the key projects that have been left pending at various stages of implementation include the redevelopment of five major markets in the city, the Delhi shopping festival, the development of a Dilli Bazaar portal, the development of an electronic city at Baprola, the Rozgar Bazaar portal 2.0, and a food truck policy.

The Dilli Bazaar was introduced as an online e-commerce portal in the 2022-23 Delhi Budget. “The detailed tender for the rollout of this project was prepared by the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDCD, the Delhi government policy think-tank) and was submitted to the industries department in July 2022. However, despite nearly a year passing, no progress has been made on this. The project is designed to provide a global platform to the traders of Delhi and create hundreds of thousands of jobs, but it has been delayed,” a Delhi government official said, declining to be named.

Industry department officials did not comment on the Delhi government allegations on the Dilli Bazaar project. However, an official in the department said a feasibility study on the electronic city project is ongoing.

Another project that has been left pending is the redevelopment of five markets — Lajpat Nagar, Kamla Market, Sarojini Market, Khari Baoli and Kriti Nagar — which Kejriwal announced in June 2022.

Initially, the Aam Aadmi Party government blamed the delay on non-cooperation from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which was under the control of Centre-appointed officers after the unification of the three erstwhile civic bodies in May 2022 till the election of a mayor in February this year.

Now that the AAP rules the MCD and the government has control over bureaucrats, this project is likely to be implemented. “Besides the redevelopment of markets, other pending projects and policies like the excise policy are likely to get pushed as the bureaucrats will now operate with a different command centre in the Capital,” said a second Delhi government official.

The shift in power balance is also likely to speed up the pace of key infrastructure projects in the pipeline, officials familiar with these works said.

A third Delhi government official said taking over administrative services will help the AAP-led Delhi government to wrest more control over the municipality affairs as it will control the urban development department. “The new AAP municipal government has been attempting to increase the coordination between the respective department of education in MCD and directorate of education at state level, road maintenance of 1400km roads being transferred from MCD to PWD, flattening of landfills,” the official said.

The Delhi government, on multiple occasions, has claimed that infrastructure projects have been delayed due to the post of Public Works Department secretary lying vacant for long periods of time. On March 17, PWD minister Atishi had also written to the LG, saying the department has been operating headless for over two months and the redevelopment of a 1400-km network of roads was at a standstill due to the post lying vacant.

On February 18, the then PWD minister and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had also alleged that the work on several infrastructure projects, including some related to G20 summit preparations, were affected due to “frequent” transfers of PWD officers. The government had claimed that since September 2020, the PWD had had five different secretaries. The charge of interference was denied by the LG secretariat.

The PWD secretary presides over a team of over 3,000 engineers and officials, provides administrative and financial approvals, and plays a critical role in coordinating the execution of infrastructure projects and the appointment of the PWD secretary has been a point of contention between the LG and Delhi government. Some of the project being taken up by PWD include elevated corridor in Punjabi Bagh-Raja Garden, Elevated corridor in Anand Vihar, underpasses at Mukarba Chowk, flyover at Sarai kale Khan, Barapullah phase-3, double decker flyvovers from Bhajanpura to Yamuna Vihar, Azadpur to Rani Jhansi intersections, and from Saket to Pul Prahaladpur.