THE INTERMINABLE CRISES that have beset Delhi seem to be going from bad to worse. After decades of being administered by the Central government through a chief commissioner and then a lieutenant governor, a 1991 constitutional amendment led to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act. It elevated Delhi administration to the status of a Union territory, with a legislature, a chief minister and a council of ministers, while keeping the lieutenant governor in charge of land, public order and police. The lieutenant governor also ensured that the elected governments did not come into conflict with the Central government.
Right from 1993, the time the first elected government took office in Delhi, there were disagreements, but even so, the atmosphere remained cordial. Two things were non-negotiable. Every chief minister maintained good relations with the Centre, even as the Central ministries remained receptive to Delhi's needs as the capital of India. While every chief minister had his or her pet priorities, no one doubted the competence and commitment of the officers whose advice was generally listened to and acted upon.
For several years now, however, Delhi's governance has slipped into a continually belligerent mode. One can blame several factors for the bedlam, but the unwillingness to display maturity has contributed the most. This is not the sort of governance that the citizens of the capital city deserve.
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