Bid to check fake bookings of parks, community centres

Will urge the L-G to stop the practice of recommendation by corporators, says Minister

Delhi Urban Development Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely told the Delhi Assembly on Friday that he would be writing to the Lieutenant-Governor requesting him to stop the practice of recommendation by corporators for booking of premises for social functions.

The Minister said this practice was behind a number of irregularities in bookings which some Members of the Legislative Assembly referred to during the taking up of Special Mention under Rule 280 in the House.

Initiating the issue, Mukesh Sharma, Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Minister, said there were widespread irregularities in booking of parks and community centres for marriages and other social events. “There is a nexus between ‘tent mafia’ and corporators which is creating problems for the citizens in getting parks or community halls booked in their names.”

Mr. Sharma said the ‘tent mafia’ was working overtime to get advanced bookings under fake names and was then informally transferring the bookings to genuine applicants after charging a hefty premium.

“It is on the record that the parks and community centres were transferred by Delhi Development Authority to the corporations for maintenance purposes. The corporations have authorised the corporators to make recommendations for booking. It has come to the notice that corporators along with the tent mafia are raising money from the genuine applicants for giving out these premises,” Mr. Sharma said.

As some other members also joined in and accused the corporators of wrong doing, the Minister assured that he would write to the L-G about it.

The issue of release of pension in the corporations not being transparent and clean was also raised during the day.

ECS mode

Mr. Sharma said the Delhi Government has already put the release of all benefits of its social sector schemes on electronic clearance system mode but the corporations were yet to implement this change.

“In the absence of ECS mode in the corporations, the beneficiaries of social schemes are finding it difficult to get pensions as some officers and corporators have been retaining a part of it,” he alleged.

Mr. Lovely also assured the House that he would instruct the corporations to implement the ECS mode in releasing pensions to the aged and widows to ensure transparency and accuracy.