Meet the troika of women mayors'
They may not be as popular as London’s Boris Johnson, who ensured successful Olympics, but they still hold the nerve centre of 1.5 cr Delhiites, HT reports
They may not be as popular as London’s Boris Johnson, who ensured successful Olympics, but they still hold the nerve centre of 1.5 cr Delhiites.
Annapurna Mishra, East Delhi mayor
Educational qualification: Ph.D in Hindi literature from Meerut
Tenure: Second term from Sonia Vihar ward
Hails from: Devariya, MP
Background: From a family of govt employees. Joined politics in her 20s and rose through the ranks.
Family: Three daughters and one son. Husband Rameshwar Prasad works as the director of a Bhopal-based research organisation
Assets: With no car or property to her name, Mishra and her husband have a modest Rs. 32 lakh of movable assets.
Powers and responsibilities
Summons House and special meetings; initiates action against erroneous officials; gives approval for important projects.
Responsibilities include keeping Opposition involved in the working of the corporation; overseeing its work; asking for reports of projects and visiting wards to see if they are functioning properly.
Notorious for its unauthorised colonies and poor planning, EDMC is also financially the weakest of the three corporations.
Divided from the rest of Delhi by Yamuna, it is working under a debt of Rs. 421 crore. Problems of sanitation, health and poor drainage abound. It has two zones—Shahdara (South), Shahdara (North)
Her work
She launched a ‘tree plantation drive’ and plans to plant one lakh saplings.
She has instructed officials to come up with a list of chargesheeted employees so that they are not posted on sensitive posts.
In June, she organised a ‘Dengue, Malaria Prevention Month’
EDMC was the first corporation to organise camps for the recovery of property tax
Her Take on:
Open garbage dumps: Many colony roads are too tiny for pickup trucks to collect garbage.
Waterlogging: Big roads belonging to the PWD are not cleaned resulting in the backflow of water into EDMC drains Parking: We are trying to turn unauthorised parkings into authorised. Plans to make 23 parking in the area.
Unauthorised construction: We are trying to curb it by putting the onus on the officials.
Her plans
Ceate more parkings
Renovate existing headquarters at Patparganj
Bring in finances by building commercial complexes on vacant plots
Controversies
Mishra has earned the sobriquet of a ‘Dharnewali Mayor’ in the first four months of her term due to her knack for organising protests.
She has managed to make headlines, so much so that the other two mayors complain about not getting enough representation. She likes to pose for pictures and on one occasion even wore a hat.
Savita Gupta, South Delhi mayor
Educational qualification: B.Ed from Jammu University
Tenure: Third time councillor from Defence Colony
Hails from: Rehari, J&K
Political background: Her in-laws were BJP supporters, which is how she got into politics.
Family: Two children. Husband Ashwani K Gupta is a businessman.
Assets: Gupta and her spouse have a Honda City and a Santro car; one house in Lajpat Nagar, another in South Extension. They have Rs. 1 crore worth of moveable assets and immoveable worth Rs. 1.3 crore.
Summons House and special meetings; initiates action against erroneous officials; gives approval for important projects.
Responsibilities include ensuring smooth functioning of the corporation — from roads to street lights to daily garbage removal; acts as bridge between the opposition and the ruling party.
With posh colonies such as GK, New Friends Colony, Defence Colony and South Extension under it, SDMC is the richest of the three bodies. Its areas have smooth roads, great parks, etc, but the credit largely goes to active RWAs.
Areas where they are less active, drains remain open, waterlogging complaints are high and roads are dirty.
Her work
Started the project to revamp community halls.
Ordered renovation of all existing toilet blocks.
Launched a tree plantation drive in the area’s schools.
Identified land for building the SDMC headquarters which is currently working out of the Civic Centre, the tallest building in Delhi.
She regularly visits the wards in her jurisdiction
Her Take on...
Open garbage dumps: We have failed to segregate garbage. Most of it is managed by rag pickers.
Waterlogging: The roads where waterlogging happens belong |to the PWD. I don’t think we have dirty drains. We have cleaned them all.
Parking: There is overcharging but residents can always refuse to pay the extra money.
Unauthorised construction: Our officials are working at it.
Her plans
Implement parking projects in her area
Introduce online application for licences
Hold rallies for awareness about vector borne diseases
Controversies
Her first few weeks as mayor provided lots of gossip as her husband was often found in her office, allegedly taking decisions on her behalf.
Councillors also complain about how she does not inform them about visiting their wards. She allegedly cancelled a trip to Singapore after she found out that SDMC won’t pay for it.
Mira Aggarwal, North Delhi mayor
Educational qualification: She studied in a govt school of Model Town. Did Law from DU’s Law Centre
Tenure: Third time councillor from Sawan Park
Hails from: Model Town, Delhi
Political background: Her father was an active BJP supporter. Under him, she joined ABVP in college.
Family: Two sons; both are working. Husband Anil Aggarwal is a doctor.
Assets: They have two houses, one in Faridabad, the other in Pitampura. Have one Esteem car. Their total assets are R3 crore, making her the richest of the three mayors.
Powers and responsibilities
Summons House and special meetings; initiates action against erroneous officials; gives approval for important projects.
Responsibilities include ensuring smooth functioning of the corporation — from roads to street lights to daily garbage removal; acts as bridge between the opposition and the ruling party.
The biggest corporation area wise, the body also has the most assets in terms of vacant land, landfill sites, hospitals, markets and road network.
What it lacks is development fund which means there are broken roads and underdeveloped colonies. To improve its financial condition, the corporation plans to construct more shopping malls and housing.
Her work
Has decided to start a medical college at Rajan Babu
TB Hospital by the next session
Payment to contractors have been made so that work can be expedited in projects involving sanitation.
The waste-to-energy plant at Narela Bawana will soon start.
Old-age pensions that were pending for nine months have been paid.
Her Take on...
Open garbage dumps: Except Narela, all zones have private contractors for this. We monitor them regularly.
Waterlogging: It happened only on Tuesday due to heavy rain.
Parking: Kamla Nagar parking will be completed by December. Parade ground lot will be opened soon.
Unauthorised construction: It is a complicated issue. Most happen in colonies that can’t get building plans sanctioned.
Her plans
Implement parking projects in her area
Get DJB under her agency
Segregate garbage to make waste-to-energy plant at Narela-Bawana functional
Controversies
She does not tire from informing the House that she has studied law and can’t be fleeced. Often known as ‘the lawyer’ in the corporation.
In 2002, she was denied a ticket by the BJP due to ‘corruption charges”. Amongst BJP circles, she is known for making her own decisions and not listening to state leadership.