Showing who’s the boss: Sheila curtails Finance Minister’s powers

Walia,who heads the Expenditure Finance Committee,had the power to sanction projects worth between Rs five crore and Rs 100 crore. Dikshit’s orders have limited his reach to projects worth Rs 50 crore and below. For any project with a higher budget,the EFC will be headed by the chief minister who will have the final word on the project. Finance Minister A K Walia and the minister concerned would also be part of such an EFC.

Any project with a budget more than Rs 100 crore is always cleared by the Cabinet.

Interestingly,Walia did not turn up for the annual lunch that the chief minister threw for her team,bureaucrats and the media. “By this order Sheila Dikshit has given clear indication that she is the boss and will be running the show singlehandedly,” said a senior bureaucrat. On Friday afternoon,Walia had chaired an EFC meeting in which four projects of the PWD cumulatively worth Rs 38 crore were sanctioned.

The EFC also gave an extension to the ecological task force working in Asola with a budget of Rs 10 crore. The EFC has also sanctioned Rs 6.09 crore for the two-lane bridge from Rawata to the Najafgarh drain and another Rs 5.88 crore for the Amberahi bridge. For the other bigger projects,chief minister Sheila Dikshit will be chairing a meeting on Monday. Sources said that the terms between Walia and the chief minister have worsened lately.

Walia,a third-time minister,and Dikshit have been at loggerheads after Walia who had been nurturing hopes of fighting the Lok Sabha election from East Delhi was replaced by Dikshit’s son Sandeep.

In the last three terms,Walia has emerged as one of the most hardworking ministers who has been able to deliver and keep promises.

Dikshit had surprised many by not only retaining Walia in her Cabinet but also giving him powerful portfolios of finance as well as urban development.