Ramifications of portfolio reshuffle

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, September 8

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit could not manage to get a nod for a Cabinet reshuffle from the party high command but she succeeded in the other alternative to put a stamp on her authority in Delhi government. She managed to get the approval of the party bosses to change the departments of her ministers in view of the Assembly elections next year.

Two of the three ministers who had rebelled against her and approached party President Sonia Gandhi in the wake of the Ashok Malhotra land scam find their wings clipped in the reallocation of the departments. A.K. Walia was stripped of important departments like Urban Development and Public Works Department (PWD) but burdened with Power Department. On the other hand Haroon Yusuf had Power department taken away from him. Instead, he got Food and Civil Supplies. The third minister against Dikshit in the Cabinet, Arvinder Singh Lovely managed to retain his departments. He just lost Art and Culture, considered a minor department which has gone to Dikshit herself.

The only minister who sided with Dikshit in political turbulence following the defeat of the Congress in the MCD elections earlier this year, Raj Kumar Chauhan, has been made all powerful. He gets Urban Development and PWD apart from retaining his old departments. Only Food and Civil Supplies was taken away from him and this is not considered an important department from any standards in the Delhi government. He also retains the post of the Chairman of Rural Development Board.

The remaining two ministers – Mangat Ram Singhal and Yoganand Shastri – who remained neutral in the ongoing saga of political one upmanship in Delhi, managed to retain what they had earlier. Singhal retains Industry and Shastri Health.

This is the first time since December 2003 when the Congress came to power in Delhi for the second consecutive term that a reshuffle has been effected in the portfolios. Interestingly, Dikshit is away in Belaruswhen the official announcement of the changes was made Saturday evening. Shastri too is away in London though he has not been affected in any way.

Some of the ministers are peeved. “Merit and work was not a criteria for the changes. If this were the determining factor such a reshuffle would not have taken place. Moreover, the ministers who have little to show in their term of almost 4 years retain their positions,” said an aggrieved minister, who did not want to be quoted in the surcharged political atmosphere.

Congress leaders here say that Dikshit has managed to “gain” politically in the six month old fracas, at least for now. “J.P. Aggarwal as DPCC President is not antagonistic to her like Ram Babu Sharma and now a change in the departments of her ministers. She seems to have emerged stronger,” said a senior Congress leader.

Reshuffle defeats the rebels

Amitabh Shukla
New Delhi, September 8

The reshuffle of the portfolios in the Delhi Cabinet has come as bolt from the blue, a surprise to the ministers themselves. Privately, they allege that instead of toning the administration in the run-up to the Assembly polls next year, it will further dent the image of the government.

A.K. Walia, the newly appointed Power Minister told HT: “I will ensure that every Delhiite gets 24-hour power supply. This is one of the most important departments and my endeavour would be to solve the grievances of consumers and make the system consumer friendly”.

Walia might be putting a brave face but officials say that he seems to have been wrongly targeted. “Around 25 flyovers, foot over bridges and new roads were commissioned during his tenure as PWD minister. The entire Ring Road has practically become signal free. He had become the symbol of development in Delhi,” said the official. There are 17 ongoing projects and another 10 in the pipeline which Walia had finalised in his tenure. “The fruits of these projects would not be plucked by some other minister,” said a Walia confidante. In his last tenure as minister from 1998 to 2003 , Walia, a doctor by profession, had Health and he had ensured the completion of 12 hospitals and 24-hour medical services in these.

The only silver lining for Walia is the fact that he is the only minister who had a continuos run for almost 9 years like Dikshit. Now he has the experience of most of the departments of Delhi government.

Raj Kumar Chauhan, the new PWD and Urban Development Minister said the CM has reposed faith in him and he would try to prove it in the new departments. “We would give Delhi, all it needs in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games,” said Chauhan. He now has maximum departments in his bag.

Haroon Yusuf too insisted that through Food and Supplies Department, the poor in the city would get their ration in time and transparency would be brought in. “We would ensure streamlining of the distribution mechanism,” he said.

The ministers in their new departments would take charge from Monday onwards. Sources in Delhi Secretariat said the rooms of the ministers would not be changed and they would continue to operate from their offices.

BOX: Recent Points of conflict

Signature Bridge: Finance Minister A.K. Walia did not give his financial approval to the ambitious project despite Dikshit’s interest on the issue. The cost of the bridge to be built at Wazirabad had risen to Rs 993 crore from the sanctioned Rs 459 crore and Walia objected to it.

Drainage at IGI airport: Walia objected here also saying that the airport is in private hands and the Delhi government should not finance the project. The CM wanted the state government to finance the 140 crore project as the Union Civil Aviation Ministry too was pushing for it. Finally a compromise formula was worked out in which different agencies shared the burden.

Ashok Malhotra land scam: Three ministers – Walia, Yusuf and Lovely rushed to complain to Sonia Gandhi on the functioning of the Dikshit government and her alleged “high handedness”. They complained that the Dikshit faction was targeting them instead of tackling the issue of land scam.

KM scheme: Transport Minister wanted the Kilometre scheme to rein in the rampaging Blueline buses. However, Dikshit did not approve of the scheme. She wanted the corporatisation of the bus fleet and saw the KM scheme as a deterrent to her scheme of things.

Transport and Power: Dikshit changed several Transport Commissioners in the last 4 years severely affecting the functional autonomy of Yusuf. Moreover, the powers of the minister in Power Department was curtailed as the bureaucrats were making the decisions and reporting directly to the CM.

Education: Dikshit took pot shots at Lovely in Cabinet meetings and pulled him on occasions.

Shadow Cabinet: Dikshit had promised several MLAs ministerial berths to win their support and trust at the cost of Walia, Lovely and Yusuf. The three ministers felt threatened.

Aggarwal new DPCC President

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, September 7

Rajya Sabha MP Jai Prakash Aggarwal would be the next President of the faction ridden Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC). The senior leader replaces Ram Babu Sharma who was the president for over two and a half years.

Aggarwal’s elevation to the post has come as a shot in arm for Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, at least for now. She was lobbying for Aggarwal and wanted Sharma to be removed from the post. Both Sharma and Dikshit spat in public and were continuously at loggerheads. The image of the party had taken a severe dent due to the infighting and then the recent Ashok Malhota episode.

Sharma, a bete noire of Dikshit in the state Congress politics, became the DPCC president on November 5, 2004. His tenure saw the party office shift to a swanky and new building. He, however, led the party to a defeat in the MCD elections earlier this year. The blame game between the organisation and the government had begun soon after.

“With this change , the party high command has given a clear message that Aggarwal would lead the party in the Assembly elections due late next year,” said a senior Congress leader. Speculation is now rife in Delhi on a Cabinet reshuffle in the next couple of weeks after the Assembly session of Delhi. “The party wants to give some new faces in the Cabinet in the run up to the elections,” said a top party source. Other party leaders say that in Congress, the PCC president and the Chief Minister are always from the opposite camps. “In this scenario, the signs are not good for Dikshit, particularly after three ministers in her Cabinet have rebelled against her,” said a Congress Vice President.

Veteran of many a political battle in the Capital, Aggarwal’s prominence in politics came after he became theDeputy Mayor of Delhi in 1983. A former student of Hansraj College, he became the Chairman of theStanding Committee of MCD in 1984. The 62-year old Aggarwal was first elected to the Lok Sabha from theChandni Chowk parliamentary constituency in 1989. He subsequently won the election two more times. His loyalty to the party was rewarded even after he lost the polls and was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Delhi in March 2006.

BOX:

The Delhi Congress on Friday issued show cause notice to four MLAs – Kiran Walia, Brahm Pal, Veer Singh Dhingan and Mukesh Sharma for their alleged anti party activities. While the first three had alleged that they were offered cars at the time of the Ashok Malhotra episode, Sharma was leading a campaign against the power distribution companies in Delhi. While the first three MLAs are considered close to Dikshit, Sharma is opposed to her in the state Congress politics. A DPCC official release said their replies have been found to be unsatisfactory. “They have been asked to submit unconditional apology within seven days from today, failing which they shall automatically stand suspended from the party with immediate effect,” the statement said. (2007)

Strategy on Yamuna

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, September 2

Citizens, representatives of NGOs and experts can now suggest ways and means to clean the river Yamuna. The suggestions would be included for studies by experts, covering different aspects of the development of the river, to formulate a cohesive plan for river rejuvenation.

Delhi Lt. Governor Tejendra Khanna, who is also the chairman of the high-powered committee on the river, has asked for comments by September 21 so that it is included in the studies. The other members of this committee are Delhi Chief Minister, Secretaries to the Union Ministries of Urban Development, Environments and Forests and Water Resources. Expert members would be co-opted by the Committee. The work of the committee is expected to commence soon.

HT takes a look at various plans which have been submitted for the river in the recent past. Ironically, none of the them materialised nor did it improve the water quality despite spending Rs 1500 crores in the last 15 years.

DDA plan : A DDA report, prepared in 1990 was the first in the series. It wanted the channelisation of the river in which 550-600 metres was to be left for the flow of the river. It recommended reclamation of the 7300 hectares of land from the river bed. Of this 7300 hectares of land in the heart of the city, the report wanted 85 percent to be used for recreational activity, 3 percent each for residential and commercial development, 6 percent for public and semi public facilities and another 3 percent for circulation (roads).

The report said that two bandhs (barriers) would be built on either side of the water

channel for the control of floods. The total area of the river bed is 9700 hectares in

which 2400 hectares is under water and the balance of 7300 hectares was sought for reclamation.

DTTDC and HUDCO plan: The latest proposal to rejuvenate river Yamuna says that for perennial water flow, two mega reservoirs should be built to trap the rain water and then allow it to release the water gradually. According to the draft proposal, the two mega reservoirs should be built on the Yamuna and the Hindon river upstream from Delhi. Both would have a link through a canal. In addition, a smaller reservoir has been proposed at the confluence, south of Delhi. The three reservoirs would have an area of 354 sq km. The proposal talks about an expenditure of Rs 18,000 crore for building the reservoirs, rehabilitation, channelisation, constructing sewage treatment plants and other inputs.

According to the draft, creation of sporting facilities for the public and the creation of pedestrian promenades would be the features in the first phase. The benefits listed are several. The lake, formed after creating the reservoir, would be one of the largest man made lakes in the world and ideal for quick gate-aways for the people of the city. Moreover, there would be enough water till 2021 even wit 67 percent growth. There would be a beautiful river front and 10,000 acres of new public parks. The presentation said the pollution in the river would be diluted and the reservoir would act as a coolant for creating a microclimate around Delhi.

Yamuna Cleaning Authority: The constitution of this authority was suggested by officials of the Delhi government on the lines of the Thames Cleaning Authority in London.

Interceptor Sewers: There is another plan to construct interceptor sewers at various places in the city before the sewage is discharged in the river. The plan entails construction of small sewage treatment plants along the drains. It also talks about creation of enough sewage treatment capacity in the plants so that even the needs of the year 2025 are met. (2007)

Political drama unfolds in Delhi

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, August 6

Opposition to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the Congress is not new. But this time, it is a “do or die” situation between the group opposed to Dikshit and her camp followers. “Either Dikshit goes this time or the three ministers and DPCC president Ram Babu Sharma,” said a senior Congress leader on the unfolding political saga in the Capital.

Headcount of the 47 Congress MLAs and their loyalty test has already started in the Congress. Though leaders say that in Congress, the party president decides about leadership and not the MLAs.

With a little over a year left for the Assembly elections, the MLAs are getting jittery. They feel that with the current trend, they might not be able to save their seats in next year’s elections. “Dikshit is no longer a guarantee for electoral success as the results of MCD elections have indicated. Anti incumbency is strong and severe infighting within the Congress. Unless drastic political steps are taken, the fortunes of the party would continue to decline,” said a three-time Congress MLA.

The Dikshit camp was silent. It was only when three ministers A.K. Walia, Haroon Yusuf and A.S. Lovely went to 10 Janpath that a close aide of Dikshit told his confidantes that “they had been pulled severely”. One of the MLAs, close to Dikshit told HT, “Dikshit is the only political face in Delhi who can win elections. Ministers are dispensable, the CM is not,” he said.

Interestingly, all the big names in the Delhi Congress are aligned with the group of ministers opposed to Dikshit. These include Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken, DPCC President Ram Babu Sharma, Sadar MP Jagdish Tytler, amongst others. The anti-Dikshit camp claims the support of at least two dozen MLAs and three of the six Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi. The group says that it is concerned about the prospects of the party in the city and an introspection needs to be done on the failures which led to the debacle in the MCD elections.

Party insiders say that a meeting of all the key players in the political drama will be convened later this week to thrash out the issues. “The coordination committee, which is supposed to iron out the differences between the party and the government would this time sort out differences within the government,” said a DPCC office-bearer.

Meanwhile, the functioning of the government remained paralysed on Monday with the ministers busy preparing their political strategy. All of them came briefly for the Cabinet meeting but soon dispersed to chalk out their next move in the political game of one upmanship.

ashukla.mail@gmail.com

(2007)

Political battle-lines drawn

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, August 5

With battle lines drawn between the two factions of the ruling Congress, the Delhi Cabinet would meet on Monday to discuss the issue of land scam, fancy numbers and other issues. Three of the six ministers in the Cabinet have already come out in the open against Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for what they call as “failure of the CM to defend her ministers and tendency to attack them in public”.

“Cabinet means collective responsibility and the Chief Minister is defeating the very principle with selective pot shots at the ministers,” one of the dissident ministers told HT. He said this has hurt them as the CM is supposed to side with the ministers on any issue.

The CM camp, on the other hand, accused half a dozen leaders of the Congress, including three ministers, of fomenting trouble for the democratically elected government. Brahm Pal, a three time MLA and firmly in the Dikshit camp, said with a little over a year for the Assembly elections, we should concentrate on defeating the BJP rather than slighting each other within the party.

When HT asked whether he was offered one of the cars owned by Ashok Malhotra, the alleged kingpin in the land scam, Brahm Pal said in Congress cars don’t change government. “I was never offered any car nor anyone approached me. I am with Sheila Dikshit,” was all he said.

The Congress leaders, opposed to Dikshit’s style of functioning have now drafted a letter for Congress President Sonia Gandhi. AICC general secretary in-charge of Delhi, Ashok Gehlot had on Saturday asked them to give their complaint against Dikshit in writing. Sources in the party said the letter lists Dikshit’s failure, her alleged soft corner towards the distcoms, failure to investigate a BSES scam highlighted by HT recently etc. Citing “ground electoral feedback”, the letter apparently said if things do not improve, BJP might get Delhi on a platter in the 2008 elections.

In the churning within the Congress, several new alignments have taken place. The Dikshit camp now has the support of Outer Delhi MP Sajjan Kumar along with former Speaker Subhash Chopra and AICC Secretary Parvez Hashmi. This group has the support of a little over a dozen MLAs.

The group opposed to Dikshit does not have any leader but “collective leadership”. It, however, has the presence of formidable leaders. The ministers in this group include A.K. Walia, Haroon Yusuf and Arvinder Singh Lovely. Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken, Sadar MP Jagdish Tytler and DPCC president Ram Babu Sharma.

“We will await the response of our party president. We want things to be sorted out for the sake of the party,” said one of the leaders in the second group.

Govt would not succumb to blackmail: Yusuf

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, July 11

The ongoing Blueline crisis has landed the Delhi government in soup. It is a proverbial choice between the devil and the deep sea for the government. If it does not continue its crackdown on the killer Blueline buses, it faces the ire of the people. On the other hand, if it continues the drive, commuters would suffer as has been happening in the last two days after a majority of the Blueline buses went off the roads. In an interview, Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf, said the government would not budge under the blackmail tactics of the Bluelines. Excerpts.

Q: The present situation is heading for an impasse with commuters facing great difficulty. What is the government doing to resolve the crisis?

A: The prime concern of the government at this point is road safety. The drive is against the buses which are violating the permit conditions. We would not tolerate this at any cost. No lawlessness would be allowed on the roads and the safety of the commuters, pedestrians and other users of the road cannot be compromised.

Q: But why did the government wake up so late when it was well known that the Bluelines violate the permit conditions and are a threat to others on the road?

A: We keep a check on these buses and drives are launched. As the media attention is more this time, it is getting the focus. Some anomalies might have crept in the system over a period of time but we are determined to remove them and bring discipline on the roads.

Q: With few DTC buses on the roads and the Bluelines keeping off, what are the options for the average commuter?

A: From Thursday onwards, the DTC would ply 2800 buses on the city routes. We are withdrawing our services from the NCR and deploying them in the city. The DTC buses from Noida too would be withdrawn. UP State Transport Corporation has agreed to ply 135 buses for services between Noida and Delhi.

Q: What about the Bluelines? When will they start operating?

A: They are violating the permit conditions by staying off the roads. Action will be taken against them. We will evoke Essential Services Maintenance Act against them if the situation demanded. We are reviewing the situation on an hourly basis and a decision would be taken. The government is also talking to the operators.

Q: What are the plans to ensure that such crises do not reoccur?

A: We have short and long term plans. We intend to increase the DTC fleet to 5000 by next year. We have already issued expression of interest for getting cooperatives and companies to operate the bus based transport system. It is easier for the government to deal with bigger entities than the individual owners, which is the case at present. Training of drivers, introducing the Kilometer scheme etc. are the other measures which are being adopted.

Q: When will the crisis end? Can you give an assurance to the commuters of the city about the date when this Blueline mess would end?

A: All of us in the government are working hard to find a solution to the issues involved. At this point all I can say is that in the next 4-5 days at the most, services would become normal in the city. (2007)

Dikshit in grip of foot in mouth disease

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, May 9

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday opened a can of political worms saying that “people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other states” are creating pressure on the resources of Delhi.

Soon after the statement, made during foundation stone laying ceremony of three flyovers on outer Ring Road, politicians from the two states, cutting across party lines assailed Dikshit for the alleged “regional” remarks. “She should resign immediately. Is she the protector or the destroyer of the people hailing from Bihar and UP who constitute a sizeable population in the city,” said Congress MLA Mahabal Mishra. Fellow Congress MLA Bheesham Sharma joined him in the tirade. “This is unfortunate,” Sharma said.

Interestingly, the Economic Survey of Delhi for the year 2005-06 which was released in November last year, pointed out that of the total migration in Delhi between 1991 and 2001, UP sent 40.05 percent of the migrants followed by Bihar with 19.09 percent. Since then, the officials involved in planning say that migrants from Bihar have outnumbered those from UP.

“Every year, thousands of people come from Bihar, UP and other states and more power, water, roads etc. are needed for them,” Dikshit said in the morning. Pointing to the Engineer-in-chief of PWD, who is from south India, Dikshit said he would not go back to his state due to excellent infrastructure in Delhi.

After the political furore, Dikshit made amends later in the day. “I apologise, if I have made any remark inadvertently,” she told Reporters. She claimed she herself was from UP. The CM alleged the statement was “politically twisted”. But soon, she sounded irritated. “Isn’t it true that five lakh people come to the city every year and there are 50 lakh vehicles in Delhi. We need more roads, flyovers, water and power for them,” she said, adding, “when facilities are so good, people do not want to go back to their state”.

Nirmal Pathak, President of Poorvanchal Gana Parishad, said the pressure on the cities is more because of the wrong economic policies of the government. “Money is being pumped in cities like Delhi whereas the villages remain as neglected as ever,” he said. Pathak said taking the name of two states of UP and Bihar is offensive. “Delhi comprises of people from all states – south India, MP, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana,” he said, asking, “tell me the name of any single state from where people have not migrated to Delhi?”

“This is a racist and communal comment,” said JNU Professor and analyst, Pushpesh Pant. People from Poorvanchal contributed to the green revolution in Punjab and form the economic base of cities like Delhi and Mumbai, he said. Pant said Dikshit herself is from Punjab and was married to a prominent family of UP. “How can she forget the contribution of the Punjabi refugees post 1947 in the development of the country. Even the present Prime Minister came from west Punjab (Pakistan),” he said.

The Delhi BJP described the statement as “objectionable, shameful and mischievous”. “Around 40 lakh people from Poorvanchal are permanently living here and they are the lifeline of Delhi. It is due to their hard labour an d talent that Delhi has turned into an important city,” he said.