When BJP councillor Mahendra Ahuja stood up in front of the Standing Committee on Thursday with a two litre bottle of what looked like an aerated drink, it may have seemed like he was planning to treat his colleagues to a cold beverage. “This is a sample of drinking water sent by a resident in my ward. It resembles Campa Cola,” he said. “Perhaps the water in the sewer and tap has got mixed up,” said Mr. Ahuja asking that the East Delhi Municipal Corporation to take up the matter seriously with the Delhi Jal Board.
the Municipal Commissioner S. S. Yadav said that of the water samples taken between June 18 and June 25, of the 489 samples taken from Shahdara (North) none was unfit. “Of the 110 samples taken in Shahdara (South), ten were unfit,” he said.
The Standing Committee also recommended that camps be set up in East Delhi for the purposes of creating awareness on applying for licenses to set up eateries and outlets. This was after the members said that vendors without licenses should not be harassed but instead be explained the procedure to apply for the same. “It is not that people do not want their outlets to be licensed. There are so many rules and regulations for a getting a health license that it make it difficult for vendors. All these rules may not apply to all vendors. Different standards should be fixed for different vendors,” said a member.
Mr. Yadav said that officials have been instructed to survey and issue licenses in commercial streets and mixed land use areas. “In the last year, only three licenses have been applied for from the Shahdara (South) zone,” he said. Members also called for time-bound issuance of licenses so vendors can adhere to the time limit.
On the matter brought up in the previous meeting of the Standing Committee regarding two MCD primary schools facing threat of eviction due to defaulting of rental payments, Mr. Yadav said that process for acquiring the land on which the schools stand is underway.
