“We don’t want to politicise the issue. We are not doing this for ourselves; we are only working towards realising the dream of BJP and Congress,” said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, unveiling the draft of The State Of Delhi Bill 2016. By introducing this Bill, the Aam Aadmi Party has not only come good on one of its 2015 poll promises, it has also pulled off a political masterstroke. Along with the draft Bill, Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia also released a 26-page Primer on Full Statehood that enumerates the occasions since 1988 when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have demanded statehood for Delhi.

Putting the ball in his opponents’ court, Kejriwal said, “In the last 22 years, both BJP and Congress have promised statehood for Delhi in their election manifestos.”  Indeed, former CM Sheila Dikshit of the Congress had in November 2013 said that Delhi “would have witnessed better development had my government not been shackled by the present governance structure, characterised by a multiplicity of agencies and authorities.”

Her views echoed those of BJP’s Madan Lal Khurana, who had demanded statehood way back in 1994 during his tenure as Delhi CM. So did fellow party man Saheb Singh Verma, who as CM had drafted a bill for Delhi’s statehood in 1998. Congress, which at present has no representation in the Delhi Assembly, is unlikely to oppose the idea of full statehood. But the BJP’s stand is likely to be at odds with that adopted in the past by its own leaders.

Currently, Delhi is governed as per The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991. The draft Bill has proposed that the NCT Act be repealed after its enactment. Here are its five salient features:

Name

The draft Bill proposed that National Capital Territory of Delhi be renamed The State of Delhi. In the First Schedule of the Constitution of India, Delhi should be added as the 30th entry under ‘States’ and removed from under ‘Union Territories’.

Jurisdiction

The most complicated aspect of full statehood for Delhi is the power struggle between Centre and State. The draft Bill proposes that all areas other than New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and Cantonment area be under the purview of the Delhi government. The area under NDMC administration includes the residences of the Prime Minister and the President, the Supreme Court, offices of central government ministries, most diplomatic missions and other buildings of national importance.

Control Of Delhi Police, MCD and DDA

Presently, Delhi Police reports to the Union Home Ministry. With the Union Ministry of Urban Development controlling Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Delhi government cannot allot land for the welfare of the people it governs at its own will. The state government does not even control the national capital’s civic bodies. Section 57 of the draft Bill, which says “All consequential amendments to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957, the Delhi Development Act 1957, the Delhi Police Act 1978” and other matters under the State List will be carried out by the Delhi Assembly, proposes to bring Delhi Police, DDA and Municipal Corporation of Delhi under the state government’s control. “All areas except those under NDMC should be governed completely by the elected government of Delhi,” said Kejriwal. “The police and other authorities including DDA and civic bodies should be accountable to the Delhi government.”

Powers of the Lieutenant Governor

The turf war between the Lieutenant Governor and Delhi government has been going on ever since AAP first came to power in 2013. Knocking down the higher executive power that the Office of LG enjoys under NCT Delhi Act 1991, Section 58 Part 9 of the draft Bill proposes that ‘Administrator or Lt. Governor’ be replaced by ‘Governor’, and clearly says  that “The Governor will act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers as provided in Article 163 of the Constitution”.

Revenue

According to Section 30 of the draft Bill, the state government will have the right to recover arrears of any tax or duty, “including arrears of land revenue”, if the property or place of assessment is in Delhi. As per Section 33, the Centre will have to refund to the state government any tax or duty on property situated in Delhi, “including land revenue collected in excess”, as well as “any other tax or duty collected in excess” if the place of assessment is in Delhi. Section 28 says that the Centre will have to hand over “all land and all stores, articles and other goods” to the state of Delhi unless it is being held for any Union purposes. Section 29 proposes that the NCT’s cash balances “immediately before the appointed day shall be the cash balances of the State of Delhi”.

Just like it did during the odd-even experiment, the Delhi government has issued two email IDs (fullstatehood.delhi@gov.in and fullstatehood.delhi@gmail.com) inviting suggestions about the draft Bill. Kejriwal said his government will hold consultations with the public and call an all-party meeting to make suitable modifications before placing the draft in the Assembly. “After the resolution is passed in the Assembly, we will forward it to the Centre to make necessary amendments in the constitution”, he said.

The author can be contacted on Twitter @amit_bhardwaz