The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021 (or the GNCTD Amendment Act) was enacted by the Government of India on 28 March 2021. It amends the ''Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991'' to give primacy to the centrally appointed

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of Delhi and make the elected

Government of Delhi The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the governing body of the Union Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also governs the city or l ...

subsidiary. The elected government will now have to seek the opinion of the Lieutenant Governor for any executive action.

Description

The GNCTD Act, 1991 provides a framework for the functioning of the Legislative Assembly and the government of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. The Act amends certain powers and responsibilities of the Legislative Assembly and the

. The 2021 Amendment provides that the term “government” referred to in any law made by the Legislative Assembly will imply

(LG). The Amendment allows the Legislative Assembly to make Rules to regulate the procedure and conduct of business in the Assembly. The Amendment provides that such Rules must be consistent with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

. It prohibits the Legislative Assembly from making any rule to enable itself or its Committees to: (i) consider the matters of day-to-day administration of the

NCT of Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and (ii) conduct any inquiry in relation to administrative decisions. Further, the Amendment provides that all such rules made before its enactment will be void. The Amendment requires the LG to reserve certain Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly for the consideration of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. These Bills are those: (i) which may diminish the powers of the

High Court of Delhi The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...

, (ii) which the President may direct to be reserved, (iii) dealing with the salaries and allowances of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and members of the Assembly and the Ministers, or (iv) relating to official languages of the Assembly or the NCT of Delhi. The Amendment requires the LG to also reserve those Bills for the President which incidentally cover any of the matters outside the purview of the powers of the Legislative Assembly.This also specifies that all executive action by the government, whether taken on the advice of the Ministers or otherwise, must be taken in the name of the LG. The Amendment adds that on certain matters, as specified by the LG, his opinion must be obtained before taking any executive action on the decisions of the Minister/ Council of Ministers.

Criticism

The Amendment was widely criticized by the Delhi's ruling

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popular ...

for demolishing the federal structure of the government by transferring the power of an elected government to the

References

{{reflist

External links

Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha
Ministry of Home Affairs, retrieved 29 March 2021. Government of Delhi