Another Bill passed by the Delhi Assembly has run into trouble with the Centre. The union Home Ministry has sought clarifications from the Delhi government on the Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill, 2015, passed by the Assembly last year.
A proposal in the Bill says the head of the dispute resolution body will be appointed by the Delhi government.
But a senior Home Ministry official said “not anyone” can be appointed to a dispute resolution body as it is statutory in nature.
Since Delhi is not a full fledged State, the power to appoint a statutory body lies with the Centre.
“The Delhi government cannot appoint just anyone to the important post, which will redress the grievances of the labour force. It is desirable as well as legally tenable that a statutory body, cleared by an Act of Parliament, is instead constituted to look into grievances and disputes,” the official said.
“We have sought clarifications from the Delhi government and don’t want to reach a situation where an ombudsman is appointed, whose appointment itself can be disputed in the court of law,” he said.
The Bill proposes higher fines and imprisonment for violation of labour norms.
As per the amendments, companies in Delhi would have to periodically upload data of their employees on a website as prescribed by the Delhi government.
Earlier, a Bill seeking 400 per cent hike in the salary of MLAs, was returned by the Home Ministry as it had not come in the proper format.
In all, 14 Bills passed by the Delhi Assembly are pending with the Centre. Similarly, the Delhi (Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services) Amendment Bill, 2015, has been sent to the union Law Ministry for comments.
The official said the contentious Jan Lokpal Bill, 2015, was not likely to be given the go-ahead as it was repugnant with several Central laws.
The Delhi High Court earlier this month ruled that Delhi was a union territory and that the Lieutenant Governor was its administrative head.
