Delhi govt: MCD is without mayor for 8 months, call meet soon

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who holds the urban development ministry portfolio, on Thursday proposed four potential dates for holding the House meeting before Republic Day.

With the first meeting of the newly-constituted Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on January 6 descending into an ugly brawl, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is now pushing for an early resumption of House proceedings, which will see the oath-taking ceremony of councillors and the crucial elections for the posts of mayor, deputy mayor and six standing committee members.

The last meeting of the House at the civic centre on January 6 saw AAP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors exchange blows after AAP members protested the decision by presiding officer Satya Sharma -- a BJP councillor -- to administer the oath first to 10 nominated members, called aldermen. (HT Photo)

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who holds the urban development ministry portfolio, on Thursday proposed four potential dates for holding the House meeting before Republic Day -- on January 18, 20, 21 or January 24 -- while municipal officials have proposed a meeting on January 30.

“I have sent a proposal for holding mayoral elections on January 18, 20, 21 or 24 to the lieutenant governor (LG Vinai Kumar Saxena). I have urged him that the MCD is operating without a mayor for the last 8 months and it would not be appropriate to further delay the process. MCD officials had proposed a date of January 30 to the Delhi government,” Sisodia tweeted in Hindi.

To be sure, the LG as an administrator has the final say in the fixing of the date, time, venue as well as the presiding officer for holding the inaugural house meeting.

Explaining the process of finalising a date for the house meeting, an MCD official, on condition of anonymity, said, “The file moves from municipal secretary to commissioner and urban development secretary. The urban development minister will forward the proposal to the chief minister and it will finally land in LG officer for final decision. LG has sole authority to decide the matter.”

The official said that once a date has been confirmed, a second file will have to be moved for the appointment of a presiding officer. “Even after the finalisation of date and order, we will need to give a three-day notice to all members while circulating the agenda. The meeting is unlikely to be held near Republic Day due to security considerations.”

The last meeting on January 6 saw AAP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors exchange blows after AAP members protested the decision by presiding officer Satya Sharma -- a BJP councillor -- to administer the oath first to 10 nominated members, called aldermen. The AAP claimed this was done to allow the aldermen to “vote in the mayoral polls” and favour the BJP, while both the BJP and the LG have denied the allegation.

To be sure, according to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, aldermen do not have voting rights in the House.