Anil Baijal takes oath as Delhi Lieutenant-Governor

New Delhi: Striking a cautious note on the future of his relationship with the Kejriwal government, former Union home secretary Anil Baijal on Saturday took oath as the 20th lieutenant-governor of Delhi. The 70-year-old former bureaucrat, who had served in a number of key positions, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Chief Justice of Delhi high court G. Rohini, ten days after Najeeb Jung’s abrupt resignation as the L-G.

Mr Baijal said addressing key challenges like women’s safety, pollution, traffic congestion and strengthening infrastructure will be his priority areas. The oath ceremony was attended by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Delhi chief secretary M.M. Kutty, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta among others.

On being asked about tussle between previous L-G Jung and the city government on a range of issues, including administrative control over the bureaucracy, Mr Baijal said, “This is speculative. I don’t know why and how the relationship will improve. We will sit and talk and then you will get to know.”

Welcoming Mr Baijal’s appointment, Mr Kejriwal said he was hopeful that under the new L-G, governance in the national capital will see new momentum overcoming the past hurdles. “I am very hopeful that in the future, we all — MLAs, Delhi government, people of Delhi — will work with the L-G for overall development of Delhi. “In the last few months, some works of Delhi government have come to a standstill. I hope that these works will be expedited,” Mr Kejriwal said at an event at Delhi Assembly complex.

Mr Baijal said he will put his best efforts in improving law-and-order situation, women’s safety, traffic congestion besides strengthening infrastructure and civic amenities in the city. “Delhi is a megapolis which has several problems like women safety, law and order, huge population, infrastructure, civic agencies and congestion. We all know about these problems. We will work with elected government to solve them,” he said.

Mr Baijal also thanked President Pranab Mukherjee and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi for giving him the responsibility. Mr Baijal, known to follow the rulebook, will have to take a series of important decisions including on the report of Shunglu Committee, set up by his predecessor to examine over 400 files pertaining to decisions taken by the AAP government in the last two years.

The Shunglu Committee has reportedly pointed out “irregularities” in some of the Kejriwal government’s decisions. His immediate task will also include appointing a new chairman of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) which has been headless since November after the appointment of incumbent Krishna Saini was turned down by Mr Jung.