Several proposals by MCD’s standing committee in limbo

Despite the discussions, resolutions proposing the construction of a foot over bridge near Azadpur, extending services of NGOs providing food to students in MCD school, among others, were not passed.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) standing committee met for the second time after a two-year-gap, and discussed issues ranging from lack of civic amenities and sanitation in the city to problems faced by MCD schools. However, barely any of the resolutions were approved.

Councillors discussed dust pollution, lack of teachers in MCD schools and unauthorised constructions.

The meeting began with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors staging a protest, highlighting requests of the Multi Task Staff (MTS) of the MCD’s public health (PH) department. The workers have been on strike since September 29, demanding equal wages, compensatory employment for family members of workers who die before retirement, and provisions for casual and earned leaves.

Stating that the MCD is committed to helping the workers, standing committee chairperson Satya Sharma said, “We want them to work without any dissatisfaction. A positive approach has been adopted toward their demands, and a concrete solution will be reached soon.” Despite this, a resolution to equalise the salaries of all MTS workers at ₹27,900 per month was postponed.

Councillors also discussed dust pollution, lack of teachers in MCD schools, unauthorised constructions and vacancies for sanitation workers, citing lack of funds to address the issues.

Despite the discussions, resolutions proposing the construction of a foot over bridge near Azadpur, the construction of a new 200 bed-ward block at Timarpur’s Balak Ram Hospital, extending the services of NGOs providing food to students in MCD school, were not passed. Resolutions regarding approvals, revisions, and modification of various plots of land across the city had already been postponed in earlier meetings.

While it was expected that after the two-year delay in its formation, the MCD’s standing committee would provide solutions to many issues which remain in limbo, the number of postponed cases seems to only be growing.