The Hindu : BJP walk-out over streetlight maintenance issue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 14, 2003

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BJP walk-out over streetlight maintenance issue

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI FEB. 13. The Opposition BJP in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi staged a walk-out at the House meeting today over the issue of MCD signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the power discoms for maintenance and upkeep of streetlights in the Capital which they alleged was at exorbitant rates.

Led by the Leader of the Opposition, Subhash Arya, all the BJP councillors entered the well of the House as soon as the meeting began in Town Hall. The councillors alleged that a team of senior MCD officials had already had meetings with the Delhi Government and the private discoms on the issue.

``According to this MoU which has already been drafted, MCD would have to pay Rs. 5,250 for maintenance and upkeep of each streetlight per annum as against the existing one of Rs. 720,'' claimed the senior BJP Councillor, Vijender Kumar. "This is a loot of the public Exchequer by the discoms. The Delhi Government and the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, are solely responsible for putting an additional burden of Rs. 100 crores on MCD,'' he alleged.

As there was chaos in the House, the Deputy Mayor, Panna Lal Khairwal -- chairing the session in the absence of the Mayor, Jaishree Panwar -- adjourned the meeting for five minutes, during which the Leader of the House, Ram Babu Sharma, Mr. Khairwal, Mr. Arya and Mr. Kumar had a closed-door meeting to find a way out. But there was not much progress.

After the meeting resumed, the MCD Additional Commissioner (Slums), V.K. Singh, who was officiating in the absence of the Municipal Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta, in a statement said that the MCD officials had been meeting senior Delhi Government officials on a regular basis on a large number of issues. Not satisfied with the reply, the BJP staged a walk-out.

Later at a press conference, Mr. Sharma said no MoU would be signed with the private discoms without approval of Standing Committee and the MCD. He alleged that the BJP was doing politics on an issue which has not come to MCD so far. "They are not interested in the development of the Capital and welfare of the people. Otherwise they would not have disturbed the proceedings of the House,'' he said.

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