Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, has written a detailed letter to Speaker Vijender Gupta expressing grave concerns over the operational viability of Assembly Financial Committees in the aftermath of the GNCTD (Amendment) Act, 2021. She has urged the Speaker to take up the matter of repealing the Act with the Union Home Ministry, warning that without urgent intervention, Delhi’s legislature and its Committees will be rendered toothless.
In her letter, Atishi began by congratulating the Speaker on the constitution of the Financial Committees, stating that these Committees are “pivotal in ensuring the accountability of the Executive to the Legislature, and thereby to the citizens of Delhi.”
She noted the crucial role Assembly Committees have played over the past decade, citing instances such as the Petitions Committee’s inspections to address water logging, inquiries into corruption in Cooperative Banks, the revival of diagnostic tests in Mohalla Clinics, and action on the stoppage of widow and old age pensions.
“And this is why I must place on record my deepest appreciation for the initiation of the various Assembly Committees. I am confident that these bodies will play an instrumental role in ensuring that the elected representatives of Delhi, whether from the treasury benches or the opposition benches, are able to raise issues that concern the people of Delhi,” she wrote.
However, she raised serious concerns regarding the GNCTD (Amendment) Act, 2021, which was passed by the Parliament of India and has amended the original GNCTD Act of 1991. Atishi noted that the proviso to Section 33(1) introduced by the 2021 amendment explicitly bars the Assembly or its Committees from considering “matters of day-to-day administration of the Capital or conduct inquiries in relation to the administrative decisions.”
“This amendment is a matter of grave concern, as it takes away the powers of the Assembly Committees, ‘…to consider the matters of day-to-day administration of the Capital or conduct inquiries in relation to the administrative decisions.’ For all practical purposes this Amendment takes away all powers of Assembly Committees,” she stated.
To demonstrate the implications of this, she cited three CAG reports currently under review by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC):
1.Report No.1 of 2024 – Performance Audit Report on Liquor Supply in Delhi
- Report No.3 of 2024 – Performance Audit Report on Public Health Infrastructure and Management of Health Services
- Report No.2 of 2024 – Performance Audit Report on Prevention of Mitigation of Vehicular Air Pollution in Delhi
According to Rule 192(1) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the NCT of Delhi (2019), the PAC is permitted to examine “appropriation accounts” and CAG reports thereon. However, Atishi pointed out that these three reports pertain to policy matters and day-to-day administrative decisions rather than appropriation accounts, putting them outside the PAC’s permissible scope under the amended Act.
“So herein lies the crisis before the newly formed Financial Committees – how can these CAG reports be examined, enquired into and a report prepared on them, when the GNCTD Amendment Act expressly forbids such enquiries regarding administrative decisions of the Govt of NCT of Delhi,” she asked.
Atishi warned that the 2021 Act will continuously “encroach on their functioning and prevent them from fulfilling the mandate granted by the people of Delhi,” adding that without legislative powers, the Committees’ actions could even be struck down by the courts.
“In the current scheme of 2021 amendment, the Public Accounts Committee, Estimates Committee etc. will not be able to fulfil their role. In the absence of powers, they will not be able to conduct proper examination and inquiry into matters that the Assembly and representatives consider important,” she noted.
Calling the matter one of “grave importance for the proper functioning of Delhi Legislative Assembly and its Committees,” Atishi concluded her letter with a strong appeal: “I hope you will take up the matter of repealing the GNCTD (Amendment) Act, 2021 with the Union Government with the requisite sense of urgency.”
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