Heated exchanges, mic-snatching: Delhi's MCD house sees clashes over ward funds, pollution and Yamuna clean-up

Mayor Pravesh Wahi said the MCD’s disciplinary committee would take action against members involved in disruption, as councillors tore papers and threw water.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) House meeting on Thursday was marked by heated confrontations over nearly every issue, including ward-wise budgetary allocations, pollution preparedness, Yamuna clean-up, and the undisposed garbage in the city, including an attempt to snatch the microphone from the mayor and the throwing of paper.

The civic body passed 23 agenda items without deliberation, including proposals for waste-processing facilities at four landfill sites and a dung-based biogas plant at Bhalswa Dairy. (HT Photo)

Addressing the disruption during the meeting at a press conference afterwards, mayor Pravesh Wahi said the MCD’s disciplinary committee would initiate action against the members involved.

Agenda Items Passed Without Deliberation

In the end, 23 items on the agenda were passed without deliberation. Among this was reclaiming land on the Okhla and Bhalswa dumpsites by processing legacy waste through bio-remediation and bio-mining, along with the development of waste-processing facilities with minimum capacities of 1,800 tonnes per day (TPD) at Bhalswa, 700 TPD at Shingola, 1,400 TPD at Okhla and 1,200 TPD at Narela-Bawana landfill sites, among others.

The proposal to introduce garbage user charge was postponed for consideration later.

Dispute Over Ward-wise Budget Allocations

The meeting started at 2:30pm and one of the first points of confrontation concerned the allocation of funds to individual ward councillors. This triggered a verbal spat between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members.

Wahi announced that the allocation was being increased from the existing ₹50 lakh to ₹75 lakh.

“The MCD is continuously undertaking new initiatives for the public good. As part of this, every councillor will be allocated ₹25 lakh for development projects in their respective wards, and 2,500 additional sanitation workers will be engaged for a period of three months to ensure improved cleanliness during the upcoming festive season,” he said in the house.

However, Leader of the Opposition, councillor Ankush Narang criticised the allocation, saying the ruling BJP had promised ₹2 crore in funds for each councillor.

“Even after seven months, only ₹50 lakh has been provided. With Diwali just around the corner, the BJP still has no concrete plan to release the remaining funds,” Narang said in the meeting.

Disputes Over Pollution, Garbage and the Yamuna

Discussion over pollution preparedness, undisposed garbage across the city, and the cleanliness of the Yamuna, further intensified the confrontation between members.

Later, Naziya Danish, a councillor backed by the Congress party, criticised Shagufta Chaudhary Zubair, who was earlier associated with the Congress but joined AAP in 2024.

During the ensuing altercation, they climbed the dais and attempted to snatch the microphone from Wahi. The confrontation escalated further, with members tearing papers and throwing water at one another.

At around 4:00pm, after roughly 90 minutes the mayor announced that all agendas had been passed and adjourned the meeting.