JOIN USReconsider DERC chief's removal: CM
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday wrote to the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung seeking reconsideration of his decision to set aside the appointment of the DERC chairman Krishna Saini.
He said the setting aside of Saini’s appointment should be reconsidered as his removal may have an adverse bearing on consumers and put them to inconvenience.
Signalling a renewed run-in with the AAP government, the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Wednesday set aside the appointment of the power regulator by the city government on grounds of legal infirmities and failure of the AAP government to seek his approval for the process.
Kejriwal’s letter to Jung coincided with a setback for the AAP government in the Delhi High Court which refused to stay the LG’s decision to remove the DERC chairperson due to legal infirmities.
The CM defended the constitution of the selection committee for DERC posts without consulting the LG. “The constitution of the said Selection Committee as well as the process of selection was carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Electricity Act,” said Kejriwal’s note.
He also countered LG’s view that since his approval was not taken for constitution of the Selection Committee and final selection from the penal of two candidates as recommended by the Selection Committee, the entire process has been vitiated and needs to be started afresh.
“Our reading of the laws and the Transaction of Business Rules suggests that no such prior approval of the LG is mandated by law or rules. Hence, the proposals were not submitted for his approval,” said Kejriwal.
“While the outcome of the Supreme Court proceedings is awaited, I wish to request the LG to kindly review the matter in public interest,” said the Chief Minister, claiming that the August 4 judgment of the High Court giving absolute power to the LG for administration was still to reach finality.
Kejriwal also highlighted the consumer-friendly decisions taken by Saini that would be nullified with his removal.
“Saini had taken a number of measures in the interest of consumers including amendment of Supply Code to provide for payment of compensation by Discoms to consumers for unscheduled power outages; amendment of Supply Code easing the Maximum Demand Indicator (MDI) regulations and making them consumer friendly; proposal to allow individual metering in co-operative societies so that individual consumers can avail benefit of Delhi government’s subsidy scheme and imposing penalty on Discoms for various lapses.”
Serious difficulties
Kejriwal wrote that it seems evident that declaring the appointment of Saini as void ab initio after a period of over six months may lead to serious difficulties.
“All decisions of DERC taken during this period will also become null and void, leading to serious problems for the power sector in Delhi, especially huge adverse impact on the consumers,” Kejriwal wrote.
The LG’s decision to set aside appointment of Saini came on a day when Kejriwal announced a special session of the Assembly to discuss his name’s inclusion in a corruption FIR and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the conspiracy.
Last month, Jung also shifted two officials handpicked by the AAP government to head the Public Works Department and the Health Department to “correct” illegalities.