Partnership for progress

Structural changes initiated in the areas of transport, power and industry, and the highly successful 'partnership scheme' are among the highlights of three years of the Sheila Dixit government.

AS the national capital, Delhi often attracts special political and administrative attention. With a view to bringing about a change in the lives of its residents, the Sheila Dixit government, which has completed three years in office, has embarked on effecting several structural changes in the industrial, power and transport sectors.

With 12.79 million people, Delhi ranks third among the metropolitan centres in terms of population. According to Census 2001, the Mumbai Urban Agglomeration has a population of 16.37 million, Kolkata 13.22 million and Chennai 6.42 million.

With the urban population growing at a rapid rate thanks to Delhi's position as a centre of trade and commerce and employment opportunities, the demand for public utilities has also been growing steadily. Although Delhi is among the top three States/Union Territories in terms of per capita income, nearly 45 per cent of its population lives in slums, unplanned settlements and unauthorised colonies. This approximately constitutes the working class population of Delhi. The capital is a major attraction for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled labour because the minimum daily wages offered in the city is comparatively high.

The situation in Delhi is unique in that its State government does not have the kind of powers and autonomy guaranteed to other State governments. Crucially, the power to legislate on certain issues lies with the Central government. Therefore, a certain level of harmony between the Centre and the State is essential for any decision involving the capital to be effective.

The National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, which came into force in January 1992, confers a special status on Delhi. It provides for a 70-member Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers to aid and advise the Lieutenant Governor. The President appoints the Chief Minister and also six Ministers on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Assembly has powers to make laws on matters contained in the State and Concurrent lists that are applicable to the Union Territory. But it cannot legislate on matters relating to public order, police and land. This means that Delhi Police and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) do not come under the administrative purview of the Delhi government. The demand for full Statehood is a political issue that surfaces during major elections.

The administrative set-up in Delhi has undergone changes in the recent past. The control of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has been transferred from the Central government to the Delhi government. The Delhi Electricity Supply Undertaking and the Delhi Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Undertaking were reorganised as the Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), and their control was transferred from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to the Delhi government. However, government agencies such as the MCD, the New Delhi Municipal Council and the DDA are not under the administrative ambit of the Delhi government.

Economic Survey of Delhi, 2001-2002, which was released recently, notes that "this multiplicity of agencies and fragmentation of responsibility results in a lack of effective coordination in policy and action on critical fronts". The most visible examples of the effects of fragmentation of responsibility are the CNG crisis and the issue of relocating polluting industries outside Delhi. The conflict over CNG arose as the Delhi government was directed by the Supreme Court to phase out the diesel buses fleet and get the private bus owners to change over to CNG buses. The responsibility of laying pipelines for CNG and ensuring its supply lay with the Central government. With both the governments not working in harmony on this issue, not all the diesel-run buses were converted to CNG mode and the vehicles that were converted did not get a trouble-free supply of CNG (Frontline, May 10, 2002). As a result, the Court concluded that its orders were not complied with.

Similarly, the Delhi government faced a difficult situation when the Supreme Court ordered that industries causing pollution be shifted out of Delhi. Since the DDA does not come under the purview of the Delhi government, the allotment of land to relocate industries is hanging fire. Even now several units operating in residential or non-conforming areas are still to be relocated.

According to the Economic Survey, the sources of public finance for Delhi are limited. Until recently, Delhi was entitled to borrow only from the Government of India and did not have the option of borrowing from the market and Provident Fund and taking negotiated loans. On September 6, 2001, an amendment to the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi Act authorised the Union Territories with legislatures to borrow from the market against the security of the Consolidated Fund. A notification making the amendment effective is yet to be issued by the Central government. According to the Economic Survey, Delhi gets only discretionary grants in lieu of its share in Central taxes, and that too at a reduced level. Delhi, like other Union Territories, was not included in the terms of reference of the Eleventh Finance Commission. As a result, it has been deprived of the financial benefits recommended by the Finance Commission for the States. The Economic Survey terms as peculiar the present administrative and fiscal arrangement for Delhi as compared to the other States and Union Territories.

Restructuring of public utilities has been an important component of the three years of governance of the Sheila Dixit government. It has also taken several austerity measures, include a freeze on the filling of vacancies in government. One of the reasons for the restructuring has been the dismal performance of the agencies in charge of these sectors. The DTC, DVB and the DJB are perceived as a drain on the resources of the Delhi government. Several small-savings loans were taken in excess of the budgetary target during the previous years to meet the non-Plan deficit of these organisations. This resulted in an increase in the overall debt liability of the government. For the first time, memoranda of understanding have been signed with the DVB, the DTC and the DJB in 2000-2001 in an attempt to increase accountability.

The first step in the restructuring of the DVB is to dismantle it into one generation unit, one transmission unit and three distribution companies and privatise distribution. This process is under way.

A road map for restructuring the DTC is being prepared by experts. As for the DJB, a World Bank-assisted study on water supply and the sewerage system is under way. Recommendations for the financial and physical improvement of this sector will be reviewed in the current year. An area where major changes are expected now is the power sector. Within three months of taking office, the Sheila Dixit government brought out a strategy paper that identified the problem areas in this sector. Power cuts are common in Delhi and the onset of summer makes the situation worse. Delhi has seen a spurt in the demand for power inverters and generators over the last few years. As power is essential to draw water also, the overall domestic consumption of power has gone up and the use of air-conditioners by relatively affluent sections of society is steadily going up. Air coolers are now more commonly used in the households of lower middle classes and relatively well off sections of the working class.

In this context, it remains to be seen whether privatisation of distribution and transmission of power will improve efficiency. Towards achieving this the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commi-ssion was appointed by the Delhi government in May 1999. Subsequently, the Delhi Electricity Reforms Act, 2000, was notified in March 2001. It provided for the constitution of an Electricity Regulatory Commission that would be involved in the division of the DVB into generation, transmission and distribution companies.

The 330-MW Pragati Power Project, which is expected to be completed by November this year, will augment power availability. A 400 kV ring is being established around Delhi to bring power from Centrally sponsored generating stations in the northern region. New power projects are being planned at Narela and Bawana with a total capacity of 1,350 MW. A system of single delivery connection has been established in working class colonies and fully computerised consumer service centres are on the anvil.

One scheme that the government takes pride in is 'Bhagidari' or partnership, which was launched by the Sheila Dixit government in January 2000. Under it the government has been involving the middle-class sections in its various drives against plastic bags, crackers and so on and even in the Clean Yamuna campaign. Sheila Dixit believes that the Congress(I)'s overwhelming performance in the MCD elections was due to the 'Bhagidari' initiatives. This scheme facilitates the coming together of resident welfare associations, market traders associations, civic agencies and public utility services in finding solutions to problems. A document titled "Three Years of Partnership in Government" details the initiatives taken by the government in the last three years.

Among the several other firsts launched by the government is the Information Technology policy that envisages large-scale computerisation of departments. In the area of social welfare, the government has decided to constitute a Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Commission to redress grievances. It has also enhanced income limits for assistance, and initiated special loan schemes without the involvement of banks. In colonies where the Scheduled Caste population is more than 50 per cent, programmes have been launched to improve amenities and scholarship rates have been increased at almost all levels of education. Several financial assistance schemes for self-employment have been planned.