Delhi Congress chief Yadav accuses BJP of bypassing MLAs, giving undue financial powers to bureaucrats

New Delhi: Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav on Monday blamed the BJP government for going around elected representatives by giving undue financial powers to bureaucrats in the District Project Fund Scheme and Integrated District Project Fund Scheme.

Yadav accused the government of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, which has made many schemes without bringing them on the ground in the last seven months, of now offloading responsibility for development works up to Rs10 crore to district magistrates. In his view, it is not just the BJP’s effort to escape accountability but also bypasses MLAs who are directly accountable to the people in their constituencies.

“The BJP government does not even have faith in its own MLAs. By granting excessive financial powers to bureaucrats, it is attempting to appease officers who have begun ignoring the chief minister and her cabinet,” Yadav said. He asked if bureaucrats with only temporary assignments in Delhi could grasp the true needs of Assembly segments better than elected lawmakers.

Yadav contended that MLAs, being directly accountable to the people, are in the best position to detect and solve issues at the local level like roads, schools, dispensaries, anganwadi centres, gaushalas, parks, street lights, drains, and public toilets. “Bureaucrats must play the role of facilitators and not decision-takers,” he claimed, saying that the chief minister was abdicating responsibility by delegating core development work to district magistrates.

Emphasising the new framework, Yadav indicated that schemes between Rs 10 crore and Rs 50 crore would be approved by the Revenue Secretary-cum-Divisional Commissioner, while those over Rs 50 crore would be cleared by the Finance Department. He enquired why ministers and MLAs were being left out of the process, cautioning that such unbridled powers for bureaucrats might open up a new channel of corruption.

He contrasted the current scenario with 15 years of party rule in Delhi, when elected representatives led development. He warned that granting bureaucrats unchecked powers undermines democracy, citing past corruption allegations and arguing that bypassing MLAs betrays voters’ trust.