United front in Delhi: On Kejriwal government-Centre camaraderie (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:Polity 
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States

Context:

• The new-found spirit of camaraderiebetween the Arvind Kejriwal-led government of Delhi and the BJP-led Centre has not come a moment too early. 
• Delhi is in the grip of the pandemic, and its response had been chaoticuntil recently. 
• The Centre and Mr. Kejriwal have had a long history of mutual hostility, affecting the city’s pandemic preparedness. 
• On March 4, there was just a single case. As of June 16, 44,688 positive cases and 1,837 deaths have been recorded. 

Administrative inaction:

• Meanwhile, complaints of denial of patient care, exploitative billing by private hospitals, and deliberate attempts to underreport cases and deaths have surfaced. 
• Whether there is community spread or not, in half of the cases, the infection source is unknown. 
• The national capital is staring at an even bleakersituation ahead, as cases are expected to cross 5.5 lakh by July-end. 
• All this was to be expected and in fact, the purpose of the national lockdown that continued for 10 weeks until June 7 was to prepare the health infrastructure for such a surge. Delhi failed in that task. 
• The pandemic has stretched the health-care system even in developed countries to a breaking point. Administrative inaction and personality clashes aggravated the situation in Delhi.

Cooperation:

• Home Minister Amit Shah and Mr. Kejriwal seem to have agreed on the need for enhanced cooperation between the governments. 
• Though a bit a late in the day, this could potentially lead to a more robustresponse by pooling in resources. 
• In the process, Mr. Kejriwal has concededsome ground to the Centre and its representative, L-G Anil Baijal.
• He has used his authority as chairman of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), and powers vested in him to maintain public order during the epidemic to take critical decisions. 
• He has reversed decisions by the Kejriwal government that discouraged testing and limited treatment to only bonafide city residents. 
• The L-G issued orders empowering government officials to impose fines on those found violating norms related to COVID-19 prevention such as spitting in public among others, besides fresh measures to ensure transparency in the functioning of the city’s medical facilities. 

Conclusion:

• The govts in Delhi and the Centre must join hands for a robust response to COVID-19.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Double-Stack Container Train in high-rise in Over Head Equipment (OHE) electrified territory, consider the following statements:

1. The Operations successfully commenced on 10th June from Palanpur and Botad stations in Gujarat. 
2. This achievement is a first of its kind in the entire world and will also boost the ambitious mission of Green India. 

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: C

Mains Questions:

Q.1) To combat with COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi the govts in Delhi and the Centre must join hands must work together. Comment.