Arvind Kejriwal and team face stiff challenges
Riding on a massive mandate of the people, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has to now settle down to the serious business of governance. He has to match expectations with deliverables. He is reasonably equipped to meet some of those hopes, but there are others that will prove tricky, not only because they are difficult to meet but also because they will require the consent of the Union Government to realise.
Given that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to cooperative federalism, the Centre will extend its assistance to the Kejriwal Government on a variety of issues. However, contentious subjects such as full statehood and the lokayukta Bill can run into trouble. Since the Chief Minister understands that full statehood is not something that will be given to Delhi merely because the Assembly adopts a resolution in its favour, one hopes he will not use the issue as a means of confrontation with the Centre.
Mr Kejriwal and his team cannot allow friction on account of the statehood demand to come in the way of striking a cooperative attitude towards the Centre, because Central assistance is critical to not just the development of Delhi but also to the efforts of the Aam Aadmi Party Government to make good many of its promises. The demand for statehood has two major components: Control over Delhi Police and jurisdiction over land.
The police reports to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and land is handled by the Delhi Development Authority which comes under the Union Ministry of Urban Development. The Aam Aadmi Party believes that, since it has made law and order an important issue, it will be able to deliver better if Delhi Police is accountable to the State Government.
Similarly, it has promised the establishment of hundreds of new schools and hospitals, for which large tracts of land that reside with the DDA, will be needed. As for the AAP’s lokayukta Bill, it has certain provisions that are apparently repugnant to the central legislation which reflects Parliament’s collective wisdom. Unless they are taken care of, the Bill is very unlikely to get the Centre’s assent.
But there are other matters where Mr Kejriwal need not necessarily look to the Centre for assistance nor can he put the onus on the Modi Government if he fails to deliver. His party has listed subsidised electricity and reduction in value added tax in its election promises. Despite all the controversies that have floated around power distribution in the State, the fact is that Delhi has among the lowest tariffs that are prevalent in the metro cities of the country. If the AAP Government wants to bring down power tariff, it will have to take the subsidy route.
The rationalisation of tariff following an audit of power distribution firms, which the AAP has committed itself to, may result in some scope for lowering the rates, but not to the extent the Government wants. The question that arises is: Where is the money going to come fromIJ Mr Kejriwal hopes to collect more revenue by lowering VAT, but that is a hope with no guarantee. Given that VAT contributes nearly 65 per cent to the State's revenue, a possible shortfall through rate reduction could be disastrous for Delhi's economy. These are just a few issues that the Chief Minister has to grapple with. We wish him luck.