Delhi Government restricts the power of the chief secretary

The Delhi government has prohibited the chief secretary from passing any kind of order against the employees of the state government. The orders passed by the chief secretary of Delhi would be valid only when they have been approved by the services Minister who has been specifically appointed by the government in this regard. Delhi government has recently appointed a new IAS officer into the ministry. Mr. PK Gupta has taken the charge of the chief secretary of Delhi. But his appointment has not been confirmed and the chief minister has sent a proposal to the Governor in order to approve the appointment as soon as possible so that the existing impasse can be reduced. This appointment is in consistency with the verdict of the supreme court that has been passed recently according to which the Delhi government is the ultimate repository of all the executive power in all the services matters. Delhi government has the power to appoint new officers and also transfer the existing officers from one place to another.

The Delhi government has also ruled that the elected government will have the powers of the Legislature and executive and it will be covered by the Services Department that will look after all the appointments and transfers. However the government has not taken upon itself the responsibility to appoint officers of land and public order. Police and maintenance of law and order is under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant Governor and has not been taken by the State Government for the time being. Until and unless the appointment of the new chief secretary is not approved by the Lieutenant Governor according to the procedure established by law he will not be in the position to pass any order and even if he passes the order that order will not be effective. The government is also requesting the Lieutenant Governor to expedite the process as soon as possible so that the pending activities could be completed.

The government will also help the Lieutenant governors to scrutinise the appointment in order to reduce the chances of any lapses in the process. This is one of the most important aspect which must be taken into consideration before dividing the gap and line between the executive and the legislature. The constitution is required to draw a line between the different organs so that they do not violate the boundaries that have been set up for them. The government is confident that the existing gap between the two levels of the government will be reduced as soon as possible and this will be able to increase the efficiency of the governance that will improve the quality of the services in the long term. This step is extremely important for the prevalence of peace and harmony in the state of Delhi in the light of the upcoming elections which will take place the next year.