Chaos in MCD House, key proposals cleared

Scenes of pandemonium returned to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Wednesday, as the meeting of the House of councillors – assembling for the first time since the Supreme Court decision on appointing aldermen – was marked with mayhem and protests, with four Opposition councillors getting suspended for disrupting proceedings.
The key flashpoints during Wednesday’s meeting were Delhi’s recurring waterlogging problem as well as delay in elections for key posts in the standing committee, wards committee and other ad-hoc panels.
Mayor Shelly Oberoi suspended four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors after they refused to leave the Well and continued sloganeering to disrupt proceedings of the House that saw two adjournments.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led municipal administration, meanwhile, pushed through key policy agenda matters through the day without discussion.
The proposals cleared amid the ruckus include setting up a new engineered landfill site in north Delhi’s Sultanpur Dabas village, appointing an agency to remove over 3 million metric tonnes of legacy waste at Bhalswa through bio-mining, hiring field staff for operations of community centres, setting up a new bio-CNG plant, among other matters.
Proposals for increasing parking charges, framing of rules for setting up municipal employee unions and redevelopment of staff quarters on Minto Road were, however, remained unapproved, senior municipal functionaries said.
Four BJP councillors – Gajendra Daral from Mundka, Amit Nagpal from Pitampura, Pankaj Luthra from Jhilmil, and Ravi Negi from Vinod Nagar – were suspended for 15 days for disorderly conduct and creating disruptions. Initially, the mayor had announced that suspension will be valid for three House meetings, but House regulations only permit suspension up to 15 days, senior MCD officials said.
The House, which commenced at 2.50pm, was adjourned multiple times for 15-30 minutes amid the pandemonium.
Even before formal proceedings could begin, the BJP councillors held a protest to highlight the alleged “failure” of the MCD administration in stopping frequent water logging and ensuing loss of life during monsoon. The protesting councillors were carrying banners demanding the resignation of PWD minister Atishi and mayor Shelly Oberoi.

Leader of the Opposition and former mayor Raja Iqbal Singh alleged that the desilting process in the city have been riddled with corruption this year and that the mayor should be held accountable for it. AAP councillors, meanwhile, appeared to have arrived prepared with their own banners targeting municipal commissioner Ashwini Kumar demanding that the fund for mayor’s discretionary fund be released.
BJP councillors accused the AAP of intentionally delaying the mayor’s election, failing to find a solution for the recurring waterlogging issue in the city, inadequate waste processing, and not making efforts to form a standing committee despite the Supreme Court’s direction.
The first adjournment for 15 minutes took place at 2.57pm. The meeting resumed at 3.22pm, but similar scenes of tussle continued. Several councillors were seen jostling and snatching and tearing banners from the opposing side.
Leader of the House Mukesh Goyal read condolence motion for the three UPSC aspirant who died due to drowning in Old Rajendra Nagar. A two-minute silence was observed during which the slogans targeting mayor continued from Opposition benches. Goyal termed the behaviour by BJP councillor as “shameful”. Four BJP members were suspended after which a second adjournment for 30 minutes was issued at 3.30pm.
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With no solution in sight, the Leader of the House started the agenda proposals without any discussion at around 4.30pm. While concluding the house, Oberoi alleged: “The BJP does not want to discuss matters related to public welfare. You are just interested to create disruptions in every house meeting. Your behaviour is shameful,” she added.
Leader of Opposition Singh said the attitude of AAP councillors and the mayor indicated their “lack of interest” in running the session. “Corporation meets once a month to discuss issues related to the public, but every time, due to the attitude of the AAP, the meeting ends without any results. Mayor arrived an hour late to the meeting, and AAP councillors were already sitting in the House with banners against the commissioner and officials,” he alleged.
The House has also passed a private member resolution to grant relief to the Bhalswa Dairy Colony from impending demolition and sealing drive. The resolution asks for change in land-use for the Bhalswa dairy colony to convert it into a residential colony so that defaulting property owners can be saved from demolition. Delhi high court has tasked MCD to relocate dairies operating there to Ghogha Dairy and the plot occupiers who are using these plots for residential and commercial use are expected to be demolished. The drive is likely to resume after August 23.
MCD official explained that a private member resolution only indicates the will of the House and has no legal bearing. “The private member resolutions are sent to the commissioner after being passed and it is executive wing’s call to act upon it or ignore it. Such resolutions are not binding in nature,” official added.