Delhi LG Anil Baijal quits citing ‘personal reasons’

“He submitted his resignation to the President... he cited personal reasons for the same,” said a spokesperson in the LG office.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal on Wednesday sent his resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind citing “personal reasons”, senior officials in his office said, a development that comes at a time the terms of the three civic bodies in the national capital are ending.

(PTI)

Baijal, a 1969-batch retired IAS officer, served a tenure of five years and four months after taking charge following the sudden resignation of Najeeb Jung. Though he was said to have a smoother equation with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government compared to his predecessor, Baijal had frequent run-ins with the ruling dispensation too.

“He submitted his resignation to the President... he cited personal reasons for the same,” said a spokesperson in the LG office.

Among the sticking points between Baijal and the AAP government were those related to administrative jurisdiction and governance. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues staged a nine-day dharna at the LG’s office in 2018 while demanding his approval to a Delhi government project.

Baijal rejected the Delhi government’s doorstep delivery of ration project and cancelled its home isolation programme, which was later reintroduced. He also blocked the Delhi government’s plan to allow only Delhi residents to be treated at city hospitals for Covid-19.

“During the Delta wave, he first got Covid-19 and now he had it again for the second time and completed his quarantine last Thursday. He is above 75 years of age and things are only likely to get heated up in Delhi from here owing to the unification of MCDs and the civic polls. So, he probably finally decided to step down. But yes, the talks of him leaving were on for a few months,” a senior official in Baijal’s office said, asking not to be named.

Baijal’s resignation comes at a time when the terms of the three civic bodies are ending and the Centre has issued a notification for the unification of the three civic bodies which will be followed by the elections.

In Delhi, three subjects – land, services and law and order – directly come under the purview of the LG. The matter regarding control over the services department is still in the Supreme Court.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021, which gave primacy to the LG over the elected government in the city came into effect in April last year after the notification of the Act by the home ministry.

In July last year, deputy CM Manish Sisodia wrote a letter to Baijal, accusing him of encroaching upon the domain of the elected government by holding meetings with bureaucrats independently without involving the concerned ministers on important matters. The LG called the “insinuations and statements” devoid of “any merit and without any evidence”, while adding that the meetings he had called were “strictly within the ambit of constitutional provisions and responsibilities” entrusted to him.

There were no comments from Kejriwal’s or Sisodia’s offices on Baijal’s resignation.

As a bureaucrat, Baijal served in Delhi as a former vice-chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). He was appointed the home secretary in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He was then transferred to the urban development ministry by the Congress-led UPA government where he oversaw the planning and implementation of the ₹60,000-crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Baijal holds the distinction of steering two Master Plans of Delhi – MPD 2021 and MPD 2041. The first as the vice-chairperson of DDA and the Union urban development secretary and the second as the Delhi LG.

With the Delhi Police under him, the city saw some of the biggest crises such as the February 2020 communal riots, the Jawaharlal Nehru University violence, the farmers’ protest against three now-defunct laws, the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the recent Jahangirpuri violence.

During his 37-year career in bureaucracy, Baijal also had stints as the chairman and managing director of Indian Airlines, chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati Corporation, development commissioner of Goa and counsellor in charge of India’s aid programme in Nepal.

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary said the Delhi unit of the party was not favourably disposed towards him. Many in the state unit felt uncomfortable with what they perceived as cordial terms with Kejriwal.

“In the past, we have seen an LG from a rival party sit on files for months, but Baijal would clear most things by Kejriwal,” said a Delhi BJP leader, asking not to be named. This view was also echoed by a second leader who said that while they weren’t aware of what led to the resignation, the LG’s office was not receptive of the BJP’s point of view.

“He is a good bureaucrat and has a good reputation,” said a third Delhi BJP leader.

Baijal held the LG’s office through two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, while ideating and ensuring the timely drafting of the Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) 2041, parking management and walkability policies, completion of the much-delayed Rani Jhansi Flyover and creating seven biodiversity parks and multi-modal connectivity plans, people aware of the development said.

In March this year, speculation about Baijal’s exit was rife after a cryptic tweet by Kejriwal. “Is Mr Praful Patel, Administrator of Lakshadweep, being made the next LG of Delhi?” Kejriwal tweeted.

“He was in a tough spot where he had to balance between two totally diverse politicians – home minister Amit Shah and Kejriwal. Since services were under him, he also tried to fill a lot of vacancies, but the two years of the pandemic slowed down the process. But he performed during this period. At the same time, he never soft-pedalled,” another official in Baijal’s official said, asking not to be named.