Headless for months, Delhi govt advisory body to get new chief

The commission operates from a bungalow on Sham Nath Marg, near Kejriwal’s residence.

Before AAP’s victory in 2015, it had organised a series of ‘dialogues’ on governance, which were essentially community-level interactive sessions. Through the commission, the AAP sought to institutionalise the initiative. As many as 21 task forces were set up under the DDC to work on areas such as WiFi, CCTVs, pollution and Yamuna.

Khetan, who was appointed to the post in 2015, had resigned in April, months before his eventual exit from AAP. The body

was formed on February 27, 2015, through a notification of the Administrative Reforms Department, barely two weeks after the AAP came to power.

Under the notification, the CM is the chairperson of the think-tank, which can have up to 10 members, including the deputy CM, chief secretary, secretary to CM, principal secretary (finance), two non-official members to be appointed by the chairperson and a member secretary to be appointed by the vice-chairperson.

Officials, on condition of anonymity, said the new vice-chairperson will be someone who has been closely working with the AAP government, mainly in policy-related matters. “The decision is unanimous. We are awaiting a Cabinet approval in this regard on Monday,” officials said.

“DDC was conceived with a clear vision that government lacks the expertise to tackle complex policy challenges and we need outside participation in framing policies. It could do very little in the past three years due to a host of reasons, including the constant run-ins with the Centre. The SC verdict has restored a balance of power. The next head of the DDC will not be a political appointee, but someone who has a proven track record in the field of public policy,” an official said.

After resigning from the post, Khetan had cited “frustration” within the government, due to its inability in getting things implemented. “An advisory body can only be as effective as the implementing departments,” he had told The Indian Express.

Sources said Kejriwal wants the new leadership of the commission to play a major role in taking forward the government’s reforms in the education and health sectors, while also providing expertise in reforming other areas such as transport, water supply and power.

The commission drafted policies such as the Solar Energy Policy and also undertook inquiries on behalf of the government into alleged irregularities in SC/ST scholarships and the construction of the Airport Express Metro corridor.