NEW DELHI: The Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) conducted the budget discussion and finalisation again on Tuesday.
Detailed deliberations continued for the second consecutive day on the Revised Budget Estimates for the financial year 2025–26 and the Budget Estimates for 2026–27.
The second day of discussions focused on improving civic amenities, ensuring timely implementation of projects, enhancing the quality of maintenance works, and strengthening transparency and accountability in civic services.
Standing Committee member Rajpal Singh said the Corporation should focus more on monitoring than just money. He further emphasised bringing small vacuum cleaners for sanitation, introducing high-end public toilets for convenience and revenue, and other key measures.
“We have sufficient budget, but there is no proper utilisation or accountability. We make roads for 10 years, but they deteriorate in 2.5–3 years because tenders are awarded at 40–50% below rates. Until the contractor-tender nexus is broken, quality work is not possible,” Singh said.
He added that with declining manpower, sanitation should shift towards modern machines rather than just hiring more workers. “Small vacuum machines in every ward can transform sanitation even in shopping complexes,” he noted.
Singh also recommended that Delhi urgently needs high-end public toilets, especially for women.Other Standing Committee members, including Praveen Kumar, Jagmohan Mahlawat, and Neema Bhagat, shared their views on the budget and suggested avenues to increase MCD revenue.
Suggestions were also made to allocate separate funds for stray animals and pollution control. Members stressed that budget allocations must align with ground-level requirements and directly benefit citizens. The upcoming Standing Committee meeting is expected to be held on January 13.