MCD meet called on May 14; Delhi Mayoral polls unlikely this month

MCD's ordinary meeting on May 14 will not include mayoral elections due to the non-appointment of a presiding officer.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has called an “ordinary” meeting of the house of councillors on May 14, as the Delhi mayoral elections has not been held due to the non-appointment of a presiding officer. The mayoral elections are now unlikely to be held this month, and the house meet is expected to list the agenda, which could not be taken up in the previous meetings, senior civic officials aware of the matter said on Monday.

Mayor Shelly Oberoi, who continues to hold the post, in the absence of fresh elections, has approved that this month’s meeting will be held on May 14, said officials. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

A senior MCD official on condition of anonymity said that it is mandatory under section 72 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act to hold at least one corporation meeting every month. “Mayor Shelly Oberoi, who continues to hold the post, in the absence of fresh elections, has approved that this month’s meeting will be held on May 14, and elections of mayor and deputy mayor are not on the agenda,” the official added.

Lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena on April 25 linked the mayoral elections with the availability of the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail in connection with the excise policy case. Saxena, who needs to appoint a presiding officer to hold mayoral elections, said, “I do not deem it appropriate to excise my power as administrator to appoint the presiding officer in absence of inputs from the chief minister.”

A meeting notice, issued by municipal secretary Siva Prasad, dated May 3, said that MCD’s “ordinary” meeting will be held on May 14 at 11am in Aruna Asaf Ali hall of the Civic Centre. The agenda that was not taken up during the meetings — adjourned in September, October and December last year as well as in January, February and March this year — will also be listed, it added. “This is issued under the orders of the mayor,” the order read.

Normally, as per section 35 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, the elections of mayor and deputy mayor need to be held in the first meeting of the financial year. Last month, the corporation made preparations to hold the election on April 26, but due to non-appointment of the presiding officer, the corporation was forced to postpone it at the last minute.

An MCD official on condition of anonymity said that the fate of the mayoral elections will now be directly linked with the CM’s advice. “The file for fresh nomination of presiding officer is likely to be moved when the situation regarding the availability of the CM changes either through his release, resignation or through an order by the courts,” the official added.

Meanwhile, Oberoi will continue to hold the office. LG order, dated April 25, said that in the “larger public interest it would be in the fitness of things that mayor and deputy mayor continue to hold their position till such time that election can be held in terms of the legal provisions.”