Delhi govt, LG lock horns over delay in banning Chinese manja

In another round of blame games, the AAP government and the office of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) on Wednesday put the onus on each other for delaying ‘notification’ to ban the deadly Chinese manja in the city. Delhi deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia presented a ‘file movement’ record before media to prove his point of swift decision while the LG Office said the recent notification is only a draft notification with no legal value.

“We took the decision in seconds. The file was sent to the hospital to get the signature of the Environment minister who was in the hospital as his relative was admitted there,” said Sisodia. “The file was in the LG Office for four days and in the office of the Environment Secretary for seven days. 

We have written a letter to the LG to fix responsibility and take action in the matter,” added Sisodia.

He and all the officers of the government emphasised the ‘draft notification’ was implementable and enforcement agencies can take action against perpetrators. The issue came to light after four people lost their lives due to the use of Chinese manja in kite flying.

“The government, therefore, has not placed a final notification for approval of the LG, which would eventually and strictly ban the use of Chinese manja,” said a press statement from the LG Office countering the claim of the AAP government that Chinese manja is legally banned in the city. 

“Further, it is clarified that the notification placed before the LG was a ‘Draft Notification’ stating “notice is hereby given that the said draft will be taken into consideration after the expiry of a period of sixty days from the date on which copies of the Delhi Gazette containing this notification are made available to the public together with any objections or suggestions that may be received in respect thereto within the stipulated period,” added the statement.

The LG Office also countered the claims of deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who indicated that the delay was from the LG Office. 

“It is clarified that the said file was received in the Lt Governor’s office on 8.8.2016 (Monday) vide Diary No.25849 and after due approval, it was sent back on 9.8.2016 (Tuesday) to the Office of the Deputy Chief Minister,” said the LG Office. It was for the first time the LG Office also sent the ‘file movement’ details to the media.