The BJP might have swept the civic elections in Delhi, but the work in the municipalities is yet to begin.
The corporations are yet to form special committees whose approvals are required to kickstart work, all because the party has been unable to form a consensus on the names of the committee members.
Almost two weeks have passed since the newly elected councillors took their oaths in the municipal bodies. However, though the mayors of the three bodies have been elected, the committees and their members are yet to be decided.
This also includes the Standing Committee, the primary decision-making body in each corporation.
“The reason for the delay is lack of consensus on the names. There have been multiple deliberations over the last five weeks, which have led only to bickering and status quo. As the monsoon season approaches, the party is training its guns on the Delhi government instead,” said a BJP source.
Confusion over zones
Senior municipal officials said that the uncertainty of the new boundaries under the delimitation rule, and the internal tussle in BJP’s Delhi wing, is delaying the formation of these panels — thereby delaying the sanction of important projects.
“I have brought the issue to the attention of the Lieutenant-Governor. The technical details relating to the constitution of the wards, which need to be notified by the Delhi government are yet to come and is causing the delay,” said the Leader of the Opposition Vijender Gupta.
The formation of the committees is also important because all the project tenders come to a close by March 31.
If they need to be reassigned, it needs the approval of the new committees.
“Each department of our functioning is managed by a separate committee. For example, there is an education committee for looking after all the work and policies passed in MCD schools. These committees set up agendas, which is then forwarded to the Standing Committee for the final nod,” an official explained.
He said, even if a door needs to be changed in a school or a gate needs to be fixed in a park, the approval needs to come from the respective panel. No work can start without the approval of these, the official said.
As per protocol, six out of the 12 members of the Standing Committee have been elected by the House, and the remaining six are yet to be finalised.
Once the borders of the zones are finalised under the new delimitation rule, each zone will have one representative and a chairperson will be selected from them.
The corporation is awaiting the final notification on this to finalise the members.
Officials said that a decision on the number and the formation of the committees has been set as an agenda for a special meeting of the house that is scheduled for Monday.
