Delhi government justifies not seeking nod for circle rates

The tussle between the Delhi government and Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung over the notification of new circle rates intensified on Thursday with the Arvind Kejriwal government saying there was "no need to seek Jung's approval".

To drive home its point, the AAP government cited a letter by then home minister P. Chidambaram to chief minister Sheila Dikshit in 2011 which said that the Delhi government "had the right to fix the minimum rates and the LG was bound to act on its aid and advice".

Chidambaram based his view on the opinion of the then attorney general, late G.E. Vahanvati.

"It has been clearly laid down in the constitution that except three matters - police, public order and land - all other matters are in the domain of the elected government in Delhi," a Delhi government statement said.

"Since this matter solely falls within our constitutional domain, there was no need of seeking the Lt. Governor's approval," it said.

The Aam Aadmi Party government also criticised the past practice of elected governments seeking approvals from the Lt. Governor "on every matter which led to inordinate delays" in decision making.

It also accused Jung of regularly raising objections on matters which do not fall under his purview.

"It is not possible (to seek LG's approval) due to the well laid down constitutional provisions," it added.

The statement said the Delhi government sent the file on the notification later to Jung as per the law.

A statement issued by the Raj Niwas on Wednesday, however, said it was examining the constitutional and legal aspects of the notification issued by the Delhi government.

"A final decision will be taken keeping in mind the constitution, law and set conventions," it said.

On June 25, the Delhi government during the budget session proposed to increase the circle rates of agricultural land to between Rs.1 crore and Rs.3.5 crore per acre. The current circle rate is Rs.53 lakh per acre, which is much lower than the prevalent market rate.

An increase in circle rates will translate into higher compensation for farmers on the acquisition of their land.