President Draupadi Murmu has increased the powers of Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi. Now the LG can constitute an authority, board, commission or statutory body in the capital. Apart from this they will also be able to appoint members in all these bodies. Earlier these rights were with the Delhi government. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification late on Tuesday night regarding the extension of the LG's powers. The Ministry said that this decision has been taken under the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991. Elections to the 12 ward committees of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will be held today following the intervention of the central government as the presiding officers were appointed as the LG's powers increased. On the instructions of Lt. Governor VK Saxena, MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar appointed the presiding officer to conduct the elections of all ward committees. He has made Deputy Commissioners of all zones of MCD as presiding officers. Earlier, Mayor Shelly Oberoi had refused to appoint a presiding officer, questioning the election process of the ward committees. Meanwhile, the central government has given the right to appoint the presiding officer to the lieutenant governor. In fact, the process of filing nomination papers for holding the election ended on August 30. MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar sent the file to appoint the presiding officer, but Mayor Shelly Oberoi refused to appoint. LG can directly appoint councilors to MCD Lt Governor of Delhi can directly appoint councilors to MCD. It is not necessary for him to consult the Delhi Government for this. The matter was before the Supreme Court. On August 5, the court had said that the decision of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) to nominate 10 members to the Delhi Municipal Corporation did not require the help and advice of the Council of Ministers. The Supreme Court upheld the Lt. Governor's decision to appoint 10 aldermen. In fact, 10 aldermen (members) were appointed by LG Vinay Kumar Saxena by issuing orders and notifications on 1st and 4th January this year. The Delhi government filed a petition in the Supreme Court against this decision. AAP disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision and Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh termed the Supreme Court's decision as a big blow to democracy and the constitution. Disagreeing with this decision, he said that the court's decision is completely contrary to the trial of the case. The MP said Delhi should get this right like other states. Two months ago, the powers of the Jammu and Kashmir LG were also enhanced. On July 13 this year, the central government increased the administrative powers of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir. As in Delhi, now the state government in Jammu and Kashmir cannot post and transfer officers without the approval of the LG. The Home Ministry notified the amended rules under Section 55 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, adding sections giving more powers to the LG. The Lieutenant Governor will now have more powers in matters related to police, law and order and All India Service (AIS).
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