President's Rule In Delhi: Common Man Suffers
As the capital is under President’s Rule and the assembly in suspended animation, here are some of the problems that the capital city and its common man is suffering from:
Lack Of Access To Officers At Secretriat
The AAP government had promised easy access to the secretriat and the officers for the common man. However, since the resignation of the government, access to officers at the Delhi Secretriat has become challenging for the common man, especially after the Administration Department issued new guidelines. The new order has enabled even deputy secretary officers to issue visitor’s pass but the common man with no contacts is finding it difficult to get the attention of concerned authorities for their problems.With no government in place, people are unable to overcome this democratic directive.
Increased Electricity Bills
During the Congress government, peole were offered Rs 1.20/unit subsidy for consumption below 200 units and 80 paise/unit subsidy for consumption between 200-400 units.The AAP government gave a 50% subsidy to households which consumed below 400 units.
However,after the resignation of the AAP government, the old rates were imposed again and the subsidy was stopped as the AAP government didn’t propose a budget with funds allocated for the subsidy. With no subsidy from the government, Delhi’s power tariff is among the highest for consumers. In this category, Delhi is ranked 17th out of 23 utilities in increasing order of cost. For middle and richer consumers, Delhi is ranked between 11 and 14 out of 23.
No Representative To Approach
As the bureaucracy is mostly engaged in elections and approaching them is becoming difficult, an absence of government is felt by the people. The people who are suffering due to the suspended assembly say that ministers were more forthcoming in meeting people to hear their grievances. Most of the political leaders are busy in campaigning for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections leaving people with no option.
Present Condition
The AAP government alleges that the assembly has been kept under suspended animation with the mala fide motive of delaying fresh elections while the governor has defended his decision not to dissolve the House.The AAP has moved to the Supreme Court challenging the non-dissolution of the House. The President’s Rule is subject to judicial review but there is little scope for a direction to a constitutional authority to dissolve or refrain from dissolving-the legislature. This issue requires a political solution but keeping in view the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections, people in Delhi cannot expect a solution before May-June and they may have to suffer more.
[Image Attribute: President Of India Website]