RWAs slam lag in civic governance, call for urgent end to MCD conflict

The results for the MCD elections were announced on December 7 last year. Since then the civic body House has met twice but was not able to conclude the elections to posts of Mayor, deputy mayor and the Standing Committee.

With the political tussle delaying the mayoral elections in Delhi, residents associations have demanded for an early end to the stalemate so that the citizens can have an accountable civic body to address public grievances.

AAP and BJP Delhi councillors shout slogans at the MCD Civic Centre in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Atul Goel, who heads URJA United RWAs Joint Action -- a collective of resident welfare associations (RWAs) -- said over the last nine months matters related to municipal governance only worsened. “Waste management, piles of roadside debris and road infrastructure are a mess. Funds are being spent over preparations of the G-20 summit but where it is all being spent? Delhi is a revenue surplus state and we hope that the state government will also increase allocation for the MCD this time,” Goel said.

The results for the MCD elections were announced on December 7 last year. Since then the civic body House has met twice but was not able to conclude the elections to posts of Mayor, deputy mayor and the Standing Committee. Until these elections are concluded, the affairs at the Civic Centre -- the MCD headquarters -- will continue to be managed by the Centre-appointed Special Officer.

According to senior MCD officials, having taken oath of office in the second House meeting held on Tuesday the newly elected councillors have become eligible for all allowances, benefits and powers vested in the municipal representatives. However, they will not have immediate access to the councillor area development funds as the allocation is made in the civic Budget.

The MCD Budget presented by the commissioner in December has to be passed by February 15, according to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. If the stalemate in the House continues, the Special Officer will have to pass the Budget, instead of the newly elected House, MCD officials said.

Residents bodies, meanwhile, regretted that even nearly two months after the civic elections, the city is yet to get a civic government.

BS Vohra, who heads East Delhi RWA joint front, said, “More than 2 crore people of Delhi elected their 250 ward councillors in a single day, but it is shameful that after nearly two months Delhi still doesn’t have a municipal government. Should RWAs and citizen groups now sit on dharna at the Civic Center to get their problems resolved?”

“The expectation was that a new government will come and provide relief to the people. All our works are pending. Problems such as road infrastructure, waterlogging, encroachment, congestion persist. The new dispensation should start working immediately. When will people’s problems be resolved?” he added.

Rajesh Panwar, chairman of the federation of Vasant Kunj RWAs said that the experience in the last nine months has shown that why it is important to have a public representative who can communicate the problems of the residents to the administration. “In the absence of elected councillors, we have to approach the zonal office in Green Park or the Civic Center which is much more cumbersome and time consuming. As soon as possible, the elected councillors should resolve their differences and hold mayoral elections. Our area suffers from problems related to stray dogs, sanitation, broken footpaths and roads. We hope the newly elected councillor and the new dispensation will get to work immediately,” he added.

To be sure, the civic body is holding “Jan Sunwai” (public hearings) campaign for addressing public grievances, ever since the Centre merged the three corporations in Delhi in June. The mechanism was put in place to plug the gap in the absence of elected representatives to ensure better civic governance. According to MCD data, 4,194 public complaints were received in Jan Sunwai campaigns carried out between June 6, 2022 and Jan 6, 2023, across 12 MCD zones and at the headquarters. Of these, 3,331 complaints have been resolved, the data shows.