Protests by BJP members mar MCD House meet, no discussion on parking fee

Chaos at MCD meeting as BJP protests water shortage in Delhi, leading to commotion and passing of proposals amid disruptions.

Chaos erupted during the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) meeting on Thursday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested the shortage in water supply in the Capital, among other things, even as proposals were passed by the civic body amid the commotion without discussions.

The commotion did not leave much room for discussions and Oberoi passed several proposals amid the sloganeering. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

The new commissioner Ashwini Kumar was welcomed after the house proceedings began around 11.55am after an hour’s delay. Soon, the opposition councillors rushed into the well of the House and raised slogans against chief minister Arvind Kejriwal while objecting to frequent delays in holding the meetings.

Mayor Shelly Oberoi welcomed Kumar who was attending his first meeting after replacing Gyanesh Bharti. The leader of the House, Mukesh Goyal, read out the condolence resolutions which was followed by the incident report being read out by Kumar. Goel said that several large incidents occurred in the city over the last month, including the massive fire in Chandni Chowk and a mosque collapse on June 18. During Thursday’s meeting, the civic body was planning to discuss the de-silting of drains and waterlogging.

The commotion did not leave much room for discussions and Oberoi passed several proposals amid the sloganeering. The House adjourned till the next meeting and the proceedings lasted for only 20 minutes.

Some agendas passed

The proposal put forward by the remunerative projects cell to increase the parking rates across the city and introduce differential rates based on the colony categorisation has been postponed and will now be taken up in the next meeting, a senior civic official said.

Parking rates in the city were last revised in 2007. A senior MCD official said that among the proposals cleared include the setting up of a new medical college complex in Rajan Babu TB hospital, regularisation of permanent sanitation staff in schools, and the deployment of gardeners among others. “Fifteen proposals have been postponed, 13 have been passed and two have been referred back,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

MCD plans to develop a new medical college complex at the cost of ₹380 crore at the Rajan Babu Hospital (Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis) under the Civil Lines zone, senior municipal officials said. According to the proposal, the corporation plans to undertake an annual expenditure of ₹95 crore over the next four years to develop the medical college complex which will have provision to admit 150 MBBS students and 50 MD/MS students.

Govt ‘misleading’ House: Oppn

Leader of the Opposition Raja Iqbal Singh said that the House was being “misled” by the government. BJP councillors carried earthen pots and raised slogans like “Jai Shree Ram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and rushed to the well of the House. The opposition councillors had come prepared with placards and banners on water shortage in the city.

Singh said that BJP councillors raised their voice about water shortage. “The tanker mafia is taking full advantage of the water shortage in Delhi. Due to the collusion of the Aam Aadmi Party, the tanker mafia has aggravated the problem. AAP ministers never have a solution to any problem and resort to drama to cover up their failures,” he said.

Singh added that the MCD and the Public Works Department’s drains have not been cleaned yet, which was fully exposed during the first rain. “The mayor made big claims about cleaning the drains, but the truth of those claims was revealed during the first rain itself. Waterlogging was seen in many places in Delhi during the first rain causing problems for the citizens,” he added.

Oppn only obstructs sessions: Mayor

Responding to the protests, Oberoi said that the House managed to pass several important resolutions despite the disruptions. “Despite all the efforts of the opposition to stop the session, we were able to pass all important agendas. I once again request the opposition to put forward their views, but there is no use trying to obstruct the session by making noise. People have formed the AAP government in the corporation with great expectations and we have pledged to live up to those expectations,” she said.

Oberoi added that the issues raised by BJP members were not related to the civic body. “Since the AAP government was formed in the MCD, BJP has not allowed the House to function smoothly even for a single day... 90-95% of all our drains have been cleaned,” she added.