Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena (file)Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has written to the chief secretary over the delay in submitting Cabinet proposals and other papers and has sought compliance with the Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR), 1993, said official sources at the L-G’s office. The chief secretary was also told to provide Cabinet proposals two days in advance, the sources added.
“Observing that the violation of Transaction of Business of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Rules, 1993, was not in the interest of transparent and accountable governance, the L-G 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,” said officials.
A copy of the same has also been sent to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as well, said officials, adding that a significant number of memorandums/proposals/Cabinet notes are received just prior to the scheduled meeting of the Cabinet or even after the conclusion of such meetings, without recording any reason for such transgression of the ToBR.
Meanwhile, a Delhi government official said, “The L-G 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.”
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Further, as per the information shared by sources with the L-G House, between April 2020 and July 15, a total of 234 proposals approved by Delhi Cabinet were sent to the L-G secretariat and 79 of them were sent a day before the scheduled Cabinet meeting, 63 on the day of the meeting and 40 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% of the instances the ToBR was violated without any justification,” sources claimed.
“The L-G office has noted with concern that such non-compliance of ToBR prima facie results in grant of little or no time for study of the proposals required for effective deliberations during the meeting of the Cabinet. It also results in insufficient time for the L-G office to form an opinion, if any, thus affecting overall governance of the national capital,” they said.
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First published on: 06-08-2022 at 10:49:24 am