AAP government renames Delhi Dialogue panel

A year after setting up the Delhi Dialogue Commission, the AAP government has renamed its think tank as the Dialogue & Development Commission of Delhi and armed it with more powers to implement its unique model of collaborative and inclusive development. The AAP government has decided to bring in all its advisory bodies, including the recently-constituted Delhi Entrepreneurship Council, under the ambit of the newly-renamed commission.

The primary aim of the DDCD will be to hold a direct dialogue between the AAP government and the people on a host of pressing issues. The DDCD, which functions directly under the command of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, has journalist-turned politician Ashish Khaitan as its vice-chairman and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, chief secretary K.K. Sharma and principal secretary to the CM Rajendra Kumar as its members.

The DDCD will invite people to send their thoughts on a host of issues and policies for effective and corruption-free governance. A highly-placed source said that the DDCD will also rope in more professional consultants for various faculties and will function without any bureaucratic interference. The focus areas of the DDCD will be power and water sectors, health, education, women safety, pollution, solid waste management, transport, traffic, speedy justice and simplification of laws for trade.

There are indications that the DDCD will be setting up a separate task force for different sectors so that pressing issues concerning them can be discussed threadbare with experts and new policies are worked out to ensure maximum people get maximum benefits at the grassroots level. A member associated with the DDCD said that the government was looking for a sincere participation of people to make Delhi corruption-free, clean, green and safe. “We are also aiming at making Delhi a world class city.”

The DDCD will not only invite suggestions, but also complaints through various platforms, including Twitter and Facebook accounts. “The complaints will be marked to respective departments for time-bound action. We will try to get first-hand account of people from time to time to overcome bottlenecks experienced in implementation of various government policies.”