By IANS,
New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Thursday said the central government was planning to put an end to the multiplicity of authorities in the national capital as it is hindering good governance and infrastructure preparedness for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
“The government of India is seriously looking at the multiplicity of authorities in Delhi as it is not required and can be done away with. There is need for administrative reforms and the central government is looking into it,” Dikshit said at the “Delhi – A World Class City in the Making” conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
“The multiplicity of authorities is affecting the infrastructure development for the Commonwealth Games as the DDA (Delhi Development Authority), MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) and Delhi Police are not under Delhi government,” she added.
The chief minister has been pitching for long to bring the DDA, MCD and Delhi police under her control. The DDA comes under the union urban development ministry and the Delhi Police is directly under the home ministry, while the MCD is an independent body established in 1958 under an act of parliament.
“We are confident that infrastructure will be in place on time for the Games but we have to do a lot. We need support from the citizens of Delhi in achieving our goal as government just cannot do it alone. We have planned a whole lot of activities for training government officials, Delhi police, taxi drivers, bus drivers and common people before the games besides partnering with industries,” said Dikshit.
Lending his support to Dikshit’s demand to end multiplicity of authorities, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister M.S. Gill said: “I do believe that there has to be a unity of command over the governance and central government should consider it. It is a bit difficult to govern a state if the police and civic authorities are not under one control.”
Gill said the ministry along with the Delhi government will train 35,000 volunteers before the Commonwealth games.