SDMC’s new mayor presses for Swachhata

The 37-year-old councillor from Madipur, Friday, won the mayoral elections unopposed after being nominated by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

There is a need to make Swachhata (cleanliness) a more powerful public movement in the city, the new mayor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), Sunita Kangra, said.

There is a need to make Swachhata (cleanliness) a more powerful public movement in the city, the new mayor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), Sunita Kangra, said.

The 37-year-old councillor from Madipur, Friday, won the mayoral elections unopposed after being nominated by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Kangra had declared her profession as ‘tutor at home’ in her election affidavit in 2017. Another councillor, 53-year-old businessman Raj Dutt Gahlot from Kakrola ward, was elected deputy mayor of the SDMC.

Elections for the north and east Delhi municipal corporations are due Monday.

The new South Delhi mayor said, “We will work on improving garbage management, expansion of educational facilities in our schools and on tackling the problem of parking. Our challenges in the capital city are growing with urbanisation.”

The shortage of sanitation employees will be taken care of and their working conditions and dignity improved, she said. Currently, there are about 10,500 contractual safai karmacharis engaged with the SDMC.

When asked about the financial difficulties of the corporation, Kangra said in fiscal 2018-19, properties tax collection has witnessed a substantial hike and has touched ₹944 crore. It is expected that the collection will cross ₹1,000 crore the next fiscal. “We will use the money to provide modern amenities in all SDMC localities,” she said.