Key MCD committees nowhere in sight despite SC order on aldermen

New Delhi
Even over a fortnight since the Supreme Court ruled that the lieutenant governor had the power to nominate aldermen of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the civic body is yet to initiate the election process for zonal ward committees and standing committee, which has led to policy paralysis over the past 21 months.
Senior civic functionaries confirmed on Tuesday that the election process has yet to be formally initiated.
A senior MCD official said the files for starting the election process have not yet been moved. “There has been no communication from the mayor’s office regarding the election process. As soon as a request is received, the formal process will be initiated seeking nominations for the wards committee election for the 12 zones. The wards committee election at the Civic Centre will be followed by the standing committee election,” the official, requesting anonymity, said.
A second senior municipal functionary, on condition of anonymity, said that both political parties seem reluctant to push for the polls. “With the chief minister still in jail, the AAP is not taking a call on such major matters which will need a lot political capital. These elections may lead to many defections and no one wants an embarrassing outcome before the assembly polls.”
After a notification is issued, the process is likely to take a month to 45 days.
The mayor and the AAP did not respond to requests for comment. A senior AAP functionary in MCD said a decision will be taken soon.
The tussle over the appointment of the 10 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionaries as aldermen by LG VK Saxena was at the root of the tussle between the AAP and the BJP, which has stalled the formation of key organs of the civic body. The Supreme Court on August 5 ruled in favour of the LG, paving the way for the initiation of the election process.
BJP’s leader of Opposition Raja Iqbal Singh blamed the AAP for the delay. “Even earlier, the courts had not stayed the process for holding committee elections, but the AAP kept insisting that the alderman matter should be resolved. Now that the SC has clarified the legal position on these appointments, elections for ad hoc, special and statutory committees should have been completed by now. The whole process to complete the standing committee formation can be wrapped up in 3-4 weeks if there is intent,” he said.
The lack of movement on the election process after the SC order prompted the LG, on August 7, to call for the speedy formation of key panels. He also attacked the AAP-led government and its ministers for “constant shadow boxing” and “litigious nature bringing crucial public services to a grinding halt.”
On the ground, the inaction and policy paralysis are translating to problems like sluggish waste management in central Delhi, where the contract of the private concessionaire has expired but a new operator cannot be hired in the absence of the standing committee’s approval.
In the absence of the key panel, many such key decisions and infrastructure projects have remained stuck for the past 20 months.
A senior MCD official said that the layout plans of major infrastructure projects can only be cleared by the standing committee and more than 60 such projects are currently stuck in the town planning department. These include appointing new companies for biomining/clearing landfill sites and a new operator to collect toll tax in the Capital as the contractor of the previous operator was only till April 10. Layout plans for a new DTC township in Hari Nagar, hostel towers for Delhi University, IIFT Maidangarhi and another multi-storey tower on DDU Marg, near the Press building, are also stuck.
MCD commissioner has the power to clear projects up to ₹5 crore.