Even after the 69th constitutional amendment act, 1992, the Council of ministers requires the approval of the Lt. Governor for performing certain administrative functions.
For instance, three significant entities—Delhi Police, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)—are excluded from the governance of the Delhi government. Recently, the subject of granting full statehood to Delhi has garnered attention due to the ongoing conflicts between the Lieutenant Governor and the elected council of ministers.
| Arguments in favour | Arguments against |
| Statehood is needed for effective management and implementation of welfare schemes.
For example-
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In 1955, the States Reorganisation Committee report argued against full statehood saying that it would lead to clash between the centre and state as the state government would have jurisdiction over offices, establishments, cantonments and services that come under the central government. |
| The subject related to ‘Police’ under the state government is essential for maintaining law and order. The exempted subjects like police and public order would be under the state government once the full statehood is conferred on the NCT of Delhi. | Security of buildings like Parliament and embassies along with important central and foreign officials would fall under the control of the state government. The state government may lack the necessary expertise and resources to perform such duties effectively. |
| Without full statehood, the Delhi government requires multiple permissions from the central government to carry out routine projects.
For example- It requires permission from the union government to build a school or hospital. |
Financial budget of Delhi would increase if DDA and Police were to be under the government of Delhi because it would have to pay for their salaries, pensions which would ultimately affect the residents of Delhi in the form of increased taxes, expensive public transportation etc. |
| Delhi requires its own cadre of officers from All India Services due to its increasing population and diverse nature. |
The demand for statehood is a ‘political’ demand. The demand for full statehood usually intensifies when there are two different political parties ruling at the centre and state levels. It has been observed that when there is the same political party in power at both levels, this demand is dissipated.
Supreme Court ruling in Govt of NCT of Delhi vs. Union of India (2018)
A constitutional bench of the Supreme Court provided a judgment regarding the disputes between the Lieutenant Governor (LG) and the council of ministers in Delhi. Main highlights of the ruling are-
- LG is bound by the aid and advice of council of ministers as per Article- 239AA(4) of the constitution which says that council of ministers of Delhi have executive power to execute all matters in respect of which the assembly has the power to make laws and LG will exercise his functions on the aid and advice of the council.
- All decisions of the council of ministers must be communicated to LG but it doesn’t mean that his concurrence is required.
Supreme court ruling on matters referring to the President
- The LG has the authority to refer “any matter” to the President in cases of a “difference of opinion” with the council of ministers, but the ability to refer “any matter” does not imply that “every matter” must invariably be sent to the President.
- Both LG and council of ministers are constitutional functionaries and must work harmoniously with mutual respect.
- The LG should serve as a facilitator instead of an opponent to the elected council of ministers.
Supreme court observation on granting statehood to Delhi
NCT of Delhi can not be granted the status of a state under the present constitutional scheme.
It is desirable that there should be sharing of powers between the centre and the democratically elected council of ministers for running the capital. With the apex court ruling in 2018, many legal issues have been clarified. The LG has been declared as a nominal office with no discretionary powers of his own. However, the Supreme Court is currently looking at one more sore point in the Centre- Delhi relations that is who controls the ‘services’ in Delhi.
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