NEW DELHI: The second day of the budget session of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) also went by in ruckus and disruption, resulting in little to no debates on proposals. On Tuesday, opposition councillors protested against the proposal of cut motion tabled by the Leader of House Mukesh Goyal.
BJP councillors tore the proposals and chanted slogans before the Mayor’s seat. The house proceedings had to be stopped twice in order to dissuade the ruckus. The Mayor finally adjourned the session till Wednesday as the chaos continued.
The special meeting on Tuesday was called to discuss the revised budget estimate for FY 2023-24 after it was adjourned on Monday. However, the BJP said the proposals tabled by AAP in the revised budget “unconstitutionally” snatches away financial powers from various committees to the tune of Rs 1,500 crores and transfers them to the Mayor.
Meanwhile, Congress councillors also opposed the move and a heated exchange of words took place between Mayor Shelly Oberoi Oberoi and Congress corporator Ariba Khan.
“The budget presented to the House is a violation of the Article 109 of the Municipal Corporation Act. There is a rule to present the budget in the ward and standing committee first. Since the new committees are yet to be formed, the old committees are still valid under article 68 of the act,” Khan said.
BJP councilors also called the move unconstitutional and questioned why financial decision making powers worth Rs 1,500 crores are being snatched from various committees and transferred to the discretionary fund of the Mayor under the revised budget.
“Through the budget cut motion, money is being withdrawn from various items to allocate Rs 1500 crores of financial powers to the Mayor and allocate Rs 500 crores for the Garbage Management Fund, which is completely illegal. We strongly opposed the unlawful diversion of financial powers from other departments to the the Mayor. AAP intends to strip salary funds and the rights of all committees,” said Raja Iqbal Singh, Leader of Opposition at MCD.
Disruptions continue
While the first day of the Budget Session at the MCD House saw confrontation between ruling AAP and opposition members of BJP over alleged irregularities in the Mayor election of the Chandigarh municipal body, on Tuesday, the opposition councillors protested to the proposal of cut motion tabled by the Leader of House Mukesh Goyal. BJP councillors tore the proposals and chanted slogans before the Mayor’s seat.