MCD standing committee retirement process delayed

The MCD's retirement draw for nine committee members was delayed due to AAP protests; the meeting will reconvene to complete the process.

The drawing of lots for the retirement of nine members of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) standing committee was delayed on Monday when the meeting was adjourned abruptly after protests from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), demanding that the minutes for the previous few meetings be circulated first. The committee now only has one day left to complete the process which they are mandated to do according to the Delhi Municipal Act, (1957).

The standing committee consists of 18 members, of which 6 are elected from the MCD House and 12 from the zone committee (HT)

The standing committee consists of 18 members, of which 6 are elected from the MCD House and 12 from the zone committees. According to MCD rules, each standing committee member has a two-year term. However, after the first year, half the members are retired by drawing of lots.

“As March marks the end of the financial year, the standing committee meeting this month will see 3 of the 6 members elected from the House retire through a draw of lots. The same process will then determine the retirement of 6 of the 12 members elected from the zonal committees. Both parties will try to get their members re-elected,” a senior civic official told HT earlier this month.

Currently, three of the six members elected from the House are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the others from the AAP. Of the other 12, eight belong to the BJP and four to the AAP.

The committee is set to meet again today conduct the process.

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, if the body does not fulfil a duty imposed on it, including the drawing of lots for the retirement of standing committee members, the central government can direct it to carry out the process. In that case, the lieutenant governor (LG), as a representative of the Union government, can order the body to do so, and set a deadline for the same.

To be sure, the DMC Act states that the central government can give the municipality and order to carry out the work within a period of time that the latter decides, and can also make financial provisions for the carrying out of the duty.

In 2024, then Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had directed the MCD to conduct elections for a vacant seat in the standing committee. After the retirement process is complete, new members from the House will be decided through a draw of lots in April-May, while those from the ward committees will be picked in May-June through a drawing of lots.

On Monday, when the standing committee meeting began, councillors from the AAP demanded that the minutes of the previous meeting be confirmed, citing the DMC Act. They also alleged that Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva was issuing directions to BJP councillors during the meeting.

MCD Leader of Opposition Ankush Narang also alleged in a statement that the committee approved a proposal for the extension of phase-2 biomining at the Okhla, Bhalsa, and Ghazipur landfill sites worth ₹650 crore without a new financial tender being released. “Under the pretext of legacy waste, work at all 3 landfill sites was awarded to the same old company without issuing a fresh tender. A technical bid was conducted, but no financial bid was opened, and in collusion, the contract was given to benefit that company,” he said.

The committee chairperson Satya Sharma called the AAP’s allegations baseless, and said in a statement she had adjourned the meeting to prevent the protests from escalating. “We will have a meeting tomorrow to hold the drawing of lots, and it will not have any other agenda. I have also directed the municipal secretary to have the minutes of the previous meetings sent to the councillor’s houses. We will sit with AAP councillors before the meeting to discuss the issues.”