Delhi Services Act hinders Delhi’s progress, says Atishi

New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) Delhi Minister Atishi on Wednesday said that after the Chief Secretary now the Principal Secretary (Finance) has written a lengthy 40-page letter denying to comply the order of the elected government.

She said that two days ago the Principal Secretary Finance declined to adhere to her instructions. “If the elected government continues to face officers' refusals in its day-to-day governance activities, it will severely hinders the progress of the work for the people of Delhi.”

"This situation is arising due to the unlawful and unconstitutional GNCTD (Amendment) Act, which poses a significant threat to our democracy,” she said.

She said that by citing Section 45(J)5 of the GNCTD (Amendment) Act 2023, Principal Secretary Finance has blatantly refused to accept the orders of the Delhi Finance Minister.

"Today they are saying that if we will move application against L-G before any court, the L-G will select our advocate. He will decide it. Whereas the court had said Delhi government has right to choose advocate of its choice," she said.

"The GNCTD (Amendment) Act finishes the accountability of officers to the elected government of Delhi. Section 45(J)5 of this act grants the bureaucracy the authority to reject decisions made by ministers at their discretion. A few days ago, I presented a 10-page letter from Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, in which he refused to comply with my orders concerning the National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA) meeting. This was the initial consequence of the GNCTD (Amendment) Act 2023, as I had forewarned," she said.

Atishi said that now, the Principal Secretary of Finance, Ashish Chandra Verma, wrote a 40-page letter asserting his refusal to accept her orders.

In relation to a letter written by then Kailash Gahlot on June 5, 2023, during his tenure as Finance Minister, and a subsequent letter from her as Finance Minister on July 12, 2023, the Principal Secretary of Finance has declined to accept the Finance Minister's directives.

Atishi said that due to the illegal and unconstitutional nature of the GNCTD Amendment Act, numerous officials have now begun to rebel against the elected government.

“The issue at hand, over which Principal Secretary Ashish Chandra has declined to comply, concerns the GST refund. The Delhi High Court has ruled against the Delhi Government in this matter. The elected government decided to challenge this ruling in the Supreme Court.

“On June 5, Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot issued instructions to appoint a Delhi government advocate and file a case in the Supreme Court, to avoid incurring losses to the public exchequer through the refund payment.

“However, subsequent to these instructions, officials within the Finance department passed the file amongst themselves without appointing an advocate or filing the case in the Supreme Court. When I received the file on July 12, I reiterated the same instructions,” she said.