In direct intervention in the functioning of the three BJP-ruled city municipal corporations, the AAP government has directed secretary (revenue)-cum-divisional commissioner A.
In direct intervention in the functioning of the three BJP-ruled city municipal corporations, the AAP government has directed secretary (revenue)-cum-divisional commissioner A. Anbarasu to inspect and scrutinise the records of the three bodies and submit a report within a week.
The AAP government has also authorised the divisional commissioner to seek services of any of the district magistrates, additional magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates to conduct the fact-finding measures to see whether the South, North and East Delhi municipal corporations were performing the obligatory functions mandated to them under Section 42 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. The law makes it mandatory for the municipal bodies to look after constructions, maintenance and cleaning of drains and drainage works and public latrines, removal and disposal of filth, rubbish, and other obnoxious polluted matters, registration of deaths and births, maintenance of slaughter houses and removal of dangerous buildings among other services.
Appointing Mr Anbarasu as the chairman of the committee, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in a signed order said additional secretary (urban development) Sandeep Kumar Mishra would be the member secretary of the committee. Mr Sisodia’s order said: “The committee and all officers associated with the committee are authorised to exercise the powers under Section 485 and 486 of the DMC Act, 1957. The committee will submit its fact-finding report within one week from the date of issue of this order.”
The order specified that during the past one year people of the city had been undergoing several day-to-day difficulties due to various agitations, strikes, demand notes by the staff of the municipal corporations, including doctors, nurses, teachers, sweepers regarding non-payment of salaries and arrears by the municipal bodies. It said: ”Even the MCD Doctors’ Association and the MCD Teachers’ Association have filed several writ petitions before the CAT, Delhi due to non-payment of salary for several months by the municipal corporations, especially by North and East Municipal Corporations and with prayer, including taking over of the MCD hospitals by the Delhi government.”
The order said that to review the financial position of the municipal corporations and to take stock of the grants under plan and non-plan heads to be released by the government, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal headed a meeting of all the three municipal commissioners with senior officers of the city administration wherein it emerged that the AAP government had in fact released almost all its dues both under all plan and non-plan heads to the three bodies.
It said: “Under the provisions of Section 42 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957, the municipal corporations are under obligation to perform certain functions which the citizens have reported, time and again, as failure on the part of the corporations.”
