'Citizen Delhi- My Times, My Life': Sheila Dikshit's memoirs reveal challenges of serving Delhi with limited powers

I was the Chief Minister of a state that was not a full state. To set up even one school, I would need a nod from the Delhi Development Authority, a body with a misleading nomenclature, for it came under the jurisdiction of the Union Ministry of Urban Development, not the Delhi State.

If I wanted to pursue power sector reforms, the approval of the Union power ministry would be essential. To create any new infrastructure for the people of central Delhi, I would have to engage with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), which remained outside the Delhi government’s control even though it was represented by an MLA in the Delhi Assembly. In this instance, I was the MLA from there.

Apart from the NDMC, there was the Municipal Corporation, which covered the civic needs of the rest of Delhi. Although people expected me to make their lives more secure, I had no control over Delhi Police, which reported to the Union Home Ministry. Any desire to augment Delhi’s water supply would necessitate turning to neighbouring states for help. Moreover, almost every file had to go to the Lieutenant Governor for approval. This cumbersome process of requiring so many levels of approval was unique to Delhi. But the bottom line was that full statehood or not, to the people of Delhi, the Chief Minister, signified the face of governance. They would not have much patience for a chief minister trying to explain an underwhelming ‘report card’ by enumerating all the areas that fell outside her jurisdiction.

There are two ways of dealing with such situations. One can throw up one’s hands and say it is impossible to perform under these circumstances or negotiate one’s way through innumerable minefields in the belief that the primary aim is to deliver on the promise of governance.

I preferred the second approach. It was more in line with my temperament and inclination. Besides, who all could I take up cudgels against? Why, even the weather of Delhi is not its own! When it snows in Shimla or Srinagar, we shiver in Delhi. When farmers in Punjab and Haryana burn crop residues in their fields, we choke on the toxic smog it creates.

These were the thoughts going on in my mind as I, along with my cabinet, went to the Raj Bhavan to take the oath of office. I had been given a free hand to choose the team I wanted and I opted for seasoned individuals who knew the lay of the land. Among them were Narendra Nath, Yoganand Shastri, Dr A.K. Walia, former mayor, Mahinder Singh Saathi, Pervez Hashmi and Krishna Tirath. The fact that the size of the Cabinet could not comprise more than seven ministers or ten per cent of the total House strength did not provide much room for manoeuvering.

After the swearing in, the new cabinet went to the Delhi Secretariat, that is, the Old Secretariat, for a meeting with the Chief Secretary. I felt a sense of thrill as I walked into the beautiful heritage building. Considered by many to be the first modern building of Delhi, it was constructed a year after Delhi was declared the capital of British India in 1911. The building also functioned as the central legislature until 1927, when the Parliament building was completed. I was told that the previous government had been sanctioned an alternative for a new secretariat some time ago, in light of the fact that the gracious building was somewhat cramped. But they had dragged their feet on it. After a lunch meeting with the Chief Secretary, I briefly shared my views with my colleagues, emphasising that it was critical to address the obvious problems areas that affected the daily lives of Delhiites.

Feeling disheartened with the labyrinthine process of getting approvals for policies and proposals was not an option. We needed to hit the ground running and keep communication lines open with our constituents. If everybody felt the need to have party meetings more frequently, then we could meet once a week or every ten days. I also reminded them that here on we represented the people of Delhi and not the party alone. For that reason we should not ignore the requests of opposition party MLAs. I relinquished my position as DPCC chief immediately so that I could focus on governance and communicated the same to Mrs Gandhi. After what seemed an unusually long day, I returned home.

The day had been full of celebratory flavours, starting with euphoric Congress workers dancing to the beat of the dholak and the peekni outside the Raj Bhavan. But the sheer exhaustion of seven months of relentless campaigning had finally caught up with me. I put on some music to unwind. Only then did I admit to myself that I had missed Vinod and Dadda’s presence every moment of the day.

Excerpted with permission from Bloomsbury Publishing from the book Citizen Delhi- My Times, My Life. Author: Sheila Dikshit; Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing