NEW DELHI: The upcoming House meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), scheduled to take place on September 26, is expected to see heated scenes with the Opposition set to flag a number of issues to try and corner the ruling AAP. This includes the formation of a Standing Committee and Ward Committee to release weekly data on vector-borne diseases.
Talking to this newspaper, Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in MCD, said that the Opposition will, in particular, flag the issue of delay in the formation of the Standing Committee and Ward Committee. He said that instead of giving relaxation to people in tax collection, the AAP-led civic body has hiked the councillors’ allowance for attending meetings from Rs 300 to Rs 25,000 per meeting. He said the BJP will take up this issue as well.
Other issues likely to be highlighted include the transfer system of teachers in MCD-run schools and not giving 11 days' salary to Hindu Rao hospital staff who had gone on strike.BJP councillor Shikha Roy alleged that one of the reasons why the AAP is not forming the Standing Committee is because it is not interested in development work and looking after the needs of people. According to her, projects costing over Rs 5 crore need approval of the Standing Committee as the concerned MCD officials only have the power to approve projects below that threshold. A source from the MCD claimed that due to this, nearly 100 projects are at a standstill.
Naziya Danish, Congress leader in the House, who is a councillor from Zakir Nagar, said that she will raise the issue of regularizing unauthorized colonies and providing them with basic facilities. She said she also intends to put forward the issue of calling MCD sessions twice a month.
Commenting on the delay in the formation of the Standing Committee, Mukesh Goyal, Leader of the House in MCD, claimed that said that it was due to the matter being sub-judice. He added that the mayor and the commissioner will sort out the matter amicably. Commenting on the issue of the MCD failing to release the weekly data for vector-borne diseases, the Adarsh Nagar councillor said that if the data does not get released on Monday, the party will highlight the issue in Tuesday’s session.