MCD in a stalemate, 147 projects await panel nod

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is in policy paralysis as one of its most vital organs, the Standing Committee, is in a political and legal stalemate leading to least 147 policy decisions -- ranging from sanitation to urban development -- stuck in limbo, according to several people aware of the matter.

- Paras Singh

While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the MCD elections in December 2022, but since then, the corporation has been working without a Standing Committee, and senior MCD officials fear that with no early resolution in sight, basic functions of the civic body that directly effect citizens may soon be impacted.

Among the 147 policy decisions pending the standing committee’s approval are also those that have a direct bearing on the civic body’s revenue.

In the last one month, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal pointed out on three occasions that the progress on flattening the landfills in Delhi has been slower than expected due to delay in decision-making and the non-constitution of Standing Committee.

Some of the other important projects include renewal of the contracts to manage garbage in the central zone of the MCD which covers several VIP pockets in New Delhi; renewal of the contract to manage streetlights; the hiring of a private operator for Delhi’s first pet park in Jangpura; rolling out a plan to depute security guards at 1,535 primary schools; and setting up the impending Shahjahnabad museum and interpretation centre near Lahori Gate.

The MCD administers some of the most basic facilities – such as registration of births and deaths, running primary schools and dispensaries, and clearing building plans – to citizens living in over 94% of Delhi.

Root of the problem 

At the centre of the current controversy is the Standing Committee, an 18-member panel that controls the purse strings in the civic body and sets the agenda for the House of elected councillors.