GNCTD Officials Indifferent To Elected Govt, Skipping Meetings, Not Taking Ministers' Calls : Delhi Dy CM Tells Supreme Court

Deputy Chief Minister of the Delhi Government Manish Sisodia has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court complaining of the "indifferent attitude" shown by senior civil servants to elected government.

Since the control over the civil servants is exercised by the Union Government, they are not answerable to the Delhi Government, and this has jeopardised the administration, the Deputy CM said. The affidavit has been filed in the petition filed by the Delhi Government challenging the notifications issued by the Central Government regarding control of civil servants who serve the government in the national capital.

Sisodia's affidavit stated that administration is based on a fiduciary relationship between the elected government and its officials. The concept is that while the elected government is answerable to the people, its officials - who are duty bound to implement the decisions and policies of the executive- are answerable to the government. However, the notifications issued by the Centre to assume control over services have disrupted this scheme of governance, he said.

"Given this regime introduced by the impugned notification, it is not surprising that the civil servants serving in the Government of NCT of Delhi have become indifferent to the elected government. The net result is that the basic day to day functioning of the the Government of NCT of Delhi stands completely jeopardised",

He added that the affidavit is filed to bring on record certain instances of non-cooperation by the civil servants.

"Despite advance notice, senior civil servants and heads of departments routinely skip meetings with Ministers of the elected government. In most cases, no explanation for absence or request for rescheduling is conveyed to the office of the Minister and instead, junior officials are sent to attend the meetings, in a shocking breach of protocol. Even beyond the issue of obvious breach of protocol, the deliberate absence of senior officials in meetings prevents Ministers from discussing projects and their implementation, or reviewing any delayed action, inefficiency in performance, inadequacy of governance outcomes or other serious issues such as corruption and malfeasance," the affidavit states.

The Deputy CM further stated that this problem has "become even more acute" with the appointment of VK Saxena as the Lieutenant Governor earlier this year.

"Any co-operation between the civil servants and the elected government is sought to be penalised and recalcitrance towards the elected government is being encouraged," the affidavit filed through Advocates Chirag Shroff and Shadan Farasat stated

The affidavit further stated that this has led to a situation where :

a. Officials have stopped attending meetings being called by the Ministers. 

b.Officials have stopped taking calls of the Ministers.

c. Officials are either delaying or not at all supplying the files concerning the department to the Ministers.

d. Officials are disobeying orders/directions of the Ministers, including orders/directions that are in writing.

e. Frequent transfers of heads of various departments have left large gaps in policy implementation of the government.

f. Large number of vacancies in different posts in the Government of NCT of Delhi as those responsible for making the appointments are not at all accountable to the public for not making the appointments.

"Apart from skipping meetings, senior civil servants also routinely do not take telephone calls of Ministers, or respond to their verbal requests to meet them in their offices in order to discuss official matters. For instance, the Principal Secretary (Finance) has refused to take the calls of the Deputy Chief Minister/Finance Minister (Sisodia), or come to this office, to discuss important matters pertaining to the Finance Department. The above illustrative instances clearly highlight that it has become a common practice for civil servants to treat the elected government with an alarming degree of laxity and contempt. It must be borne in mind that the Ministers are elected representatives of the people, and it is through the Ministers that civil servants can be held accountable to the people," the affidavit, which listed out several such instances, stated.

The Supreme Court has referred the issue to a Constitution Bench. The Delhi Government has also filed another petition challenging the amendment made to the GNCTD Act in 2021 which increased the powers of the LG over the elected government.