Two months after terms ended, MCD prods 37 councillors to return laptops

Among these, 22 and 14 members were from the BJP and AAP respectively, while only a single councillor was from the Congress, municipal officials said.

New Delhi: Although the terms of councillors of Delhi’s three municipal corporations, which have since been merged, ended some two months ago, 37 of them have not returned their official laptops and other office accessories, officials said.

The Civic Centre in central Delhi, which houses the new unified MCD. (File photo)

Municipal authorities have written letters to the 37 former councillors from all three political parties to return the government property, they said on condition of anonymity.

“We have written letters to people who are yet to submit the laptops or pay the requisite fee to purchase it. There are 37 such former councillors who have not submitted laptops, out of which 22 councillors were from the Bharatiya Janata Party, 14 from the Aam Aadmi Party and one from the Congress party,” an official said.

The erstwhile South Delhi Municipal Corporation used to provide an option of taking ownership of the laptops by paying ₹3,000 while the erstwhile north municipality mandated payment of ₹33,649, another official said.

All councillors of erstwhile South Delhi Municipal Corporation have submitted their laptops, according to a report by the municipal secretariat. From the north municipality 24 former councillors were yet to submit their issued laptops, out of which 14 are from the BJP, nine are from the AAP and one from Congress, the report stated. Similarly, out of the former East Delhi Municipal Corporation councillors, 13 are yet to return their official accessories, out of which eight are from the BJP and five from the AAP.

All former councillors should immediately return the official laptops and other items, a BJP leader said, declining to be named. AAP did not immediately comment on the issue.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi had introduced a scheme in 2006, where all councillors and nominated members were provided laptops. All 272 municipal councillors were given new laptops after the term that started in 2007. While the scheme continued even after the trifurcation of the civic body in 2012, the municipality has always faced reluctance from some councillors in returning official accessories at the end of their five-year tenures.

“Ideally the laptops and all other accessories which are part of the government property should be returned before April, when the official business of the elected wing of corporation ceases, but there are always a section of councillors who are late in completing the process,” an official from the Delhi municipal body’s secretariat said.