The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi and the bureaucratic establishment clashed again on Friday (August 25), with Services Minister Atishi alleging that the chief secretary has refused to comply with her directives to establish a coordination mechanism for meetings of the newly established National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA). In response to Minister Atishi's claims, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar stated that such public statements are intended to demonstrate her authority in domains such as service and vigilance, despite her lack of executive powers.
"Atishi is neither a member of the NCCSA nor assigned any role in the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act 1991 concerning the NCCSA," Chief Secretary Kumar clarified.
Atishi, in a letter addressed to LG VK Saxena, claimed she issued an order on August 16 to facilitate coordination between various departments of the Delhi government and the NCCSA, but the chief secretary refused to acknowledge the order in a ten-page letter dated August 21.
During a press conference, Atishi stated, "The chief secretary refused to follow this order."
The NCCSA, led by the Delhi chief minister, was established through a Central ordinance in May of this year. It is responsible for overseeing service matters, including officer transfers and postings within the government.
Questioning the viability of NCCSA's function without a coordination mechanism, Atishi asked, "If coordination mechanism for holding meetings is not acceptable to the bureaucracy, how will the NCCSA function?"
Atishi also criticised the decision of the Arvind Kejriwal-led government to institute a coordination mechanism despite knowing the questionable legality and constitutionality of NCCSA, which is currently under court scrutiny.
"If officers refuse to follow orders of the ministers, works for Delhi people will be hampered and delayed," she cautioned.
Pointing to the GNCTD Act-2023, Atishi highlighted that officers of the Delhi government could refuse to follow ministerial orders, which would shift decision-making power to an unelected lieutenant governor and bureaucracy. She claimed that Section 45 of the Act allowed officers to deny following a minister's order.
Expressing concern, Atishi questioned whether Delhi would now be governed by bureaucrats, warning that this could lead to the obstruction of government plans to open new schools and provide free medicines and electricity, thereby undermining democracy and transparency.
Earlier, Atishi had mentioned "roadblocks" impeding NCCSA meetings.
In the order issued to the chief secretary, Atishi emphasised adherence to the provisions of Sections 45H(1) and 45H(2) of the GNCTD (Amendment) Act 2023 for the smoother operation of NCCSA.
Chief Secretary Kumar responded, highlighting that the GNCTD Amendment Act 2023 had vested executive powers in the central government for matters including service and vigilance. He emphasized that the NCCSA chaired by the Chief Minister did not assign a role to Atishi.
Chief Secretary Kumar, issuing a public statement, said, "It seems that Minister Atishi is trying to capture the executive powers, which are not vested upon her. This is being done when the Hon'ble Apex Court has refused to stay the provisions of the GNCTD Amendment Act 2023. Even she is trying to dictate the NCCSA which is chaired by the Hon'ble Chief Minister. This ultimately shows that such public statements are being made as an attempt to indicate authority by Minister Atishi in areas of service matters and vigilance matters, wherein she does not have any executive powers."