Arvind Kejriwal embarks on clean Yamuna mission

NEW DELHI: If PM Narendra Modi is going all out with his Clean Ganga Mission, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal too has embarked on a revive Yamuna mission. Kejriwal, who now now has his own policy advisory body: the Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC), has announced seven task forces to, as an official statement put it, "actualize the vision" of the DDC.

Derived from the Aam Aadmi Party's election time experiment — Delhi Dialogue — for drafting manifesto and '70 Point Action Plan', the DDC will be an advisory body comprising sector-specific experts, expert bodies, task forces and senior government officials who will work on policy and even carry out public consultations. Seeking to try a different "model" of governance and "inclusive development" policy through the DDC, the AAP administration in a statement said it seeks "not only to remove the distance between the government and the people but also tap into people's everyday experiences and their professional knowledge to draw up policy-level interventions in order to deliver on the 70 point manifesto."

With nine full-time members, the DDC will be led by Chief Minister Kejriwal himself who will preside as Chairman and brain behind the 'Delhi Dialogue' initiative, Ashish Khetan, has been made its Vice-Chairman. Speaking with ET soon after the commission's announcement, Khetan explained the idea behind setting up the commission: "In policy making, public participation is very important. When we say public, it does not only mean aam aadmi, we also mean outside government there is a lot of talent pool, knowledge, daily lived experiences of people; the government will make use of all this."