NGO report: MCD councillors skipped house meetings, asked fewer questions

The report titled “Delhi Councillor Report Card 2020” is prepared annually by the Praja Foundation where it rates elected representatives of the three civic bodies on the basis of data accessed through RTI and public accounts.

The performance of municipal councillors in Delhi’s three civic bodies — North, South and East — had fallen in the year 2019-20 as compared to previous years in terms of attendance in House meetings, the number of questions asked and the relevance of issues raised, a report card released by Praja Foundation, a non-government organisation, said on Friday.

The report said seven councillors (3 north corporation, 3 SDMC, 1 EDMC) asked zero questions in 2019-20. (Saumya Khandelwal/HT File Photo)

The report titled “Delhi Councillor Report Card 2020” is prepared annually by the Praja Foundation where it rates elected representatives of the three civic bodies on the basis of data accessed through RTI and public accounts.

The report suggests the attendance of the councillors in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled civic bodies — North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) — has fallen compared to previous years.

“The performance of councillors has fallen in all three corporations in 2019-20. The attendance score fell in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation from 75.32% in 2017-18 to 66.38% in 2019-20, in SDMC from 75.10% to 66.61% and in EDMC from 81.83% to 71.27%”, said Milind Mhaske, director, Praja Foundation.

The attendance percentage of councillors in 2018-19 was 70% in North Corporation, 71% in SDMC and 76% in EDMC.

Mhaske said the overall questions raised by councillors fell by 29% from 18,128 in 2017-18 to 12,879 in 2019-20. The highest fall was in north corporation, where the number of questions raised fell by 35%, followed by SDMC with a 27% fall and EDMC, which reported 16% fall.

The report said 55 councillors (54%) in North DMC, 56 (54%) in SDMC and 37 (62%) in EDMC scored less than 50% in raising the issues of their areas (obligatory duties) and showed “poor quality of deliberation”.

The report said seven councillors (3 north corporation, 3 SDMC, 1 EDMC) asked zero questions in 2019-20.

The report gave scores to the councillors and ranked them on parameters of attendance in the House, number of issues raised, relevance of issues and their accessibility.

Ravinder Kumar of Chandni Chowk (North Corporation), Satpal Kharwal of Vishnu Garden (SDMC) and BS Panwar of Shahdara North (EDMC) were given the first rank in their respective corporations.

Anamika Mithilesh, south Delhi mayor, said she has not yet seen the report and refused to comment on it. Mayors of the north and east corporations also refused comment citing similar reasons.