'End multiplicity of authority'

Q&A/Sheila Dikshit

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is the only Congress CM to have been reelected for a second term in the last Assembly election. In an interview withBusiness Standard, she talked about her priorities.
Excerpts:

You've been chief minister for a second term for two months now. You must have firmed up your priorities for Delhi. What are you proposing ?

Our ultimate aim is to turn Delhi into a real capital city of the world's largest democracy. To this end, the multiplicity of authority and the resultant confusion that prevails must be ended.

For example, the Delhi government has no control over land, no role in planning, no police powers. So, we're handicapped. If I need a school or a hospital, unlike other chief ministers, I can't just go ahead and set up one. I have to ask a hundred people without knowing if my request will finally be acceded to.

Let me give you a concrete example. We want to remove Pragati Maidan from its current location as India's most prestigious exhibition ground that hosts international visitors, quite simply because it is a pain in the neck for the rest of Delhi. I have written to the Central government but have had nothing but a deafening silence from them on this issue.

When Pragati Maidan was set up in the 1970s, it was considered to be out of town. Now, it is the heart of the city. I have told the Government of India it has to go. But "land" is with the Government of India. Nor can we tell them: change the plans. The Delhi Urban Arts Commission or the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is totally under the Central government. We effectively become customers of the DDA.

The Union Budget mentioned the setting up of a world-class convention centre in Delhi. Has the idea been discussed with you?

Not at all. In fact, it was we as the Delhi government, who wrote to the Central government first, that Pragati Maidan could be turned into a convention centre and a new trade fair ground be established more out of town. Right now, we have traffic jams, pollution and disruption of normal life because of this. You have a perfect setting for a convention centre, and with adequate parking. You could even establish a Dilli Haat kind of cultural complex here. A couple of major hotels are located nearby. After we suggested this, for a long time there was no response. Then we heard the announcement in the Budget. After that, again there is nothing.

This is not all. I am determined to create more housing for the poor. Unauthorised colonies spring up because people have to live somewhere and when they don't get land, they occupy government land. There are about 30 lakh people living in colonies that the Government of India does not recognise. So I cannot provide them any services like sewerage, water or electricity. These colonies then become health hazard for the areas around.

The latest development on this front is that now, unauthorised colonies "" only some, mind you "" will be given services. But the person who has bought the land illegally will have to pay market rent and form a cooperative that will then apply to the government for services. Then the government will go through that to decide.... It means the end of a lifetime for the individual who is here because he is providing some service of some kind to the capital.

So you see my dilemma. The Delhi government can't do anything unless the Central government so orders. And meanwhile, power theft, pressure on sewerage and water continues. There is no point in our devising a policy on unauthorised construction because the Central government can countermand our orders. Multiplicity of authority creates all these problems.

The jhuggi-jhonpri (JJ) clusters is another example. What we've suggested for these groups of habitation is in situ development. But no one wants to look at this issue except politically. All they want is that these people should be shifted some 30 to 40 km outside Delhi and not become an eyesore.

But these are 30 to 40 lakh people. How can they be uprooted and flung outside Delhi? What we want, therefore, is the right to make a policy. We need a board where the Delhi government is represented, along with a secretary.... Flyovers, pollution control, parks and so on, these are within our purview and you can see, we have performed. But where we don't have powers, what can we do?

Power is one area where you had intervened. What is the situation now?

Distribution has been privatised and it will complete two years in June-July. In the past one year, there has been 40 per cent improvement in distribution. So I would consider we have been successful. But there are hiccups due to the changeover. The companies "" Tata and BSES "" run on the basis of profit motive, but a regulator is in place. However, there is leakage of around 48 per cent despite all this. People have not got out of the habit of stealing. I estimate that it will take another two years to settle down.

A copywriter described Delhi as the city of jugaad (contriving or making-do). Everyone knows everyone in Delhi. A classical example of jugaad is the way Sainik Farms has come up....

[Laughs] Oh, yes. There are three examples: Sainik Farms, which is an encroachment on private land; Mahendroo Enclave (west Delhi); and Anantram Dairy (south Delhi), which is an example of encroachment on government land. The latter has land and building belonging to such important people as Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K C Pant and former Union Power Minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam.

Sainik Farms has buildings worth crores. Forty thousand to 50,000 to 1 lakh people are living here. What is the government going to do? Raze the buildings down? You've done that with poor people who occupy government land.

You've legalised Mahindroo Enclave and Anantram Dairy despite the fact that these are encroachments on government land. But you haven't taken a decision on Sainik Farms, which is encroachment on private land. If it is jugaad, then it must be jugaad for everyone. You must have the same policy for everybody. But how can this be done? This is why I say: end multiplicity of authority.

A large percentage of Delhi lives in agricultural areas. What should be done about this section of the population?

Industries are operating in 50 per cent of the agricultural areas. Our plea is: legalise them. If people operate illegally, it is the state that loses revenue. We are trying to upgrade services for Delhi farmers by suggesting value-addition "" diverting them to floriculture and horticulture. Access to education and health facilities is a big priority.

Then there is the problem of lal dora. Land has been designated lal dora in 1908. So we're bringing in a Bill to upgrade lal dora. Those who were illegal according to the 1908 law can be legalised. The ground reality will be more in tandem with the legal reality.

We must have statehood for Delhi. [Madan Lal] Khurana and the BJP had supported this, but they sent it to the Standing Committee and now the Bill has lapsed. From the Rashtrapati downwards, everyone said, "Yes. We must have it."

But it is yet to see the light of day. The Delhi government's relationship with the seat of the federal government must be clearly defined. At the moment, it is an untenable position.