Following their routine of unconventional ideas to govern the national Capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinet on Tuesday revealed that the ensuing Budget would be crowdsourced. Department allocation to bureaucrats will also be done in a new way wherein the officers would be asked to come up with a plan on achieving targets and the one with the best blueprint would be given the free will to implement it. While he talked of coming up with a White Paper on the power situation in Delhi, the CM also gave homework to all the MlAs, asking them to come up with a detailed report on water in their respective constituencies.
Speaking at the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal said that the Budget would be prepared after taking people’s opinion and that the initiative will be launched on a pilot basis in five to 10 constituencies. “This is practiced in several foreign countries. As an experiment, the people of Delhi will make the Budget. After taking their opinion detailed discussions will be held in the House where legislators will make the final decisions. The aim is to make financial allocation based on requirement of various areas,” he said on the second day of the Delhi Assembly session.
The second experiment, he said, is in a bid to encourage healthy competition among bureaucrats. “We will fix targets for any department and they will be publicised. Officers should make a plan to achieve the target. The officer who has the best plan will be given the charge of the department,” Kejriwal said in his concluding remarks on the lieutenant Governor’s address.
On the issue of electricity, he said, a White Paper on the issue will be released which will inform people on the sector’s position and from where it started the work. People can compare the progress made by AAP Government, looking at the White after the end of five years. The White Paper will also cover the time-frame of last 15 years when the Congress was in power, during which the sector saw privatisation.
Bracing up for summer, the CM also asked legislators to take note of problems
related to water shortage in their constituencies so that the Government can prepare a concrete plan to deal with the situation. He also asked the three BJP MlAs to come up with their grievances related to water shortage in their respective constituencies within 8-10 days.