Delhi govt to appoint parliamentary secretaries - Livemint

Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia said that marshals will be appointed to ensure safety on DTC buses. Photo: HT

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi on Friday announced that it will appoint 21 members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) as parliamentary secretaries. “We have decided to put MLAs in governance work. They will be appointed as parliamentary secretary for every cabinet minister,” deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said.

Detailed guidelines and names of the ministers will be provided once the MLAs take oath, Sisodia said. “No additional benefits are to be provided to these MLAs,” he said. “Since there can only be six cabinet ministers in Delhi, there is a lot of work. These ministers will be an extending a hand. We are not creating layers but complementing the chain.” The MLAs who will become parliamentary secretaries will work under the cabinet ministers to speed up implementation of the party’s developmental agenda. The AAP won 67 seats out of the 70 in the state assembly in last month’s election.

The Delhi government, which completes one month in power on Saturday, has also taken up the task of appointing marshals in buses between 6pm and midnight. “Taking a step towards ensuring women security, we have asked the Delhi police for a report of dark spots in the city. We will appoint marshals in Delhi Transport Corp. (DTC) buses between 6pm and midnight,” Sisodia said.

In its manifesto ahead of the elections in Delhi, the party said 5,000 bus marshals shall be appointed to prevent and deter crime on public transport.

Highlighting some of the other initiatives taken up by the party in the course of the month, Sisodia said the government has already reduced electricity tariffs by 50% and made water up to 20,000 litres free for every household every month. The other initiatives taken by the government on health, education, environment include tackling rising pollution in the capital by conducting surprise checks at pollution control centres.

The government last month provided 20,800 permits for e-rickshaws compared with the 600 that had been issued till now. The motor vehicle (amendment) bill, 2015 was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 11 March and Lok Sabha on 3 March, paving the way for plying battery operated three-wheeler taxis.

In a cabinet meeting on Friday, the government approved the convening of the Delhi assembly on 24 and 25 March to pass a vote on account for the first three months of the next financial year. The next state budget is likely to presented in June. On 24 February, in the first assembly session of the government, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had signalled an overhaul in the functioning of the state government through crowdsourcing the budget and implementation of policies.

Kejriwal was not present during Friday’s cabinet meeting. He is in Bengaluru for treatment for a chronic cough and diabetes.