Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal will meet LG to discuss name of new DERC chairperson

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena in a bid to reach a consensus on the name of a retired judge to head the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC).

The Supreme Court had on July 17 asked the two constitutional functionaries to rise above “political bickering” and discuss who could head the national capital’s power regulator. The court will take up the issue for consideration again on July 20.

The meeting between the LG and the chief minister could not take place so far as Kejriwal was in Bengaluru to attend a meeting of non-BJP opposition parties.

The post of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman assumes significance since the regulator decides the power tariff in the national capital.

The post has been lying vacant since January amid the differences between the AAP dispensation and the LG office over the new appointment. The post of the DERC chairman assumes significance since the regulator decides the power tariff in the national capital.

Kejriwal in January recommended the name of retired High Court judge Rajeev Kumar Srivastava for the post. However, Srivastava in June excused himself from taking charge citing personal reasons.

The chief minister on June 21 recommended the name of Justice (retd) Sangeet Lodha as the new DERC chairperson. Meanwhile, the Centre through a notification appointed Justice (retd) Umesh Kumar to the post.

The AAP dispensation opposed the appointment as “illegal and unconstitutional”, saying ‘electricity’ is a transferred subject falling under the jurisdiction of the elected government of a state or Union Territory.

The Aam Aadm Party (AAP) later moved the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of Justice (retd) Kumar.

With inputs from PTI.