Centre empowers L-G to frame rules governing factories and industries in Delhi

Through another notification, the Home Ministry delegated powers to frame rules for the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

The Union Home Ministry has empowered the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi to frame the rules governing the functioning of factories and industries in Delhi. According to a notification by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the L-G and Administrators of five other Union Territories — Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep — have also been delegated such powers.

Through another notification, the Home Ministry delegated powers to frame rules for the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 to the L-G and Administrators of the six Union Territories.

The Ministry said in a notification on January 17 that under Article 239 (1) of the Constitution, the President of India directed the Administrator or Lieutenant-Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep to “exercise the powers and discharge the functions of the appropriate Government or State Government under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (35 of 2020), to formulate the rules” in the jurisdiction of the six Union Territories where rules are required to be formulated either by “appropriate government or State government”.

Only Delhi and Puducherry have a Legislative Assembly and an elected Chief Minister. The two notifications do not encompass the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The order is likely to create further consternation between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi Government and the BJP-led government at the Centre as the former has accused the L-G of Delhi of usurping the powers of an elected government.

The Supreme Court is currently examining the dispute between L-G and Delhi Government over the control of Administrative Services in the national capital.

The rules of Industrial Codes are significant as they determine the process of hiring, retrenchment, wages and working conditions in a factory or industry. After the four labour codes were enacted by the Parliament in 2020, State governments were expected to draft the rules to be applicable in their respective jurisdictions. As Delhi is a Union Territory, the said rules will be notified by the L-G, with the Delhi Government’s Labour and Industries Department not likely to have any say in it.