East civic body may lose its headquarters

The cash-strapped East Delhi Municipal Council (EDMC) could soon lose its DSIIDC building headquarters in the Patparganj industrial area.

The cash-strapped East Delhi Municipal Council (EDMC) could soon lose its DSIIDC building headquarters in the Patparganj industrial area.

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The erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had taken a part of Udyog Bhavan in east Delhi from the DSIIDC for setting up the office of the EDMC and, in return, had agreed to give the DSIIDC its properties in Lajpat Nagar, which now fall under the jurisdiction of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), and Kashmere Gate, which after trifurcation comes under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).

On Friday, the mayors of the SDMC and the NDMC asked their commissioners to stall the process of handing over their properties to DSIIDC till it is passed by the Houses.

“Both properties are in prime locations and the SDMC and the NDMC don’t want to give them away to DSIIDC as they are not getting anything in return. So, they want each House to pass the transfer proposal which is also mandatory according to the DMC Act, 200 C & D, which envisage that no land or building can be transferred or sold without the prior approval of the corporation,” said a senior SDMC official.

Both mayors have sought the details of the properties which earlier were being transferred to the DSIIDC amicably. “If both Houses don’t pass the transfer order, the EDMC have to vacate Udyog Bhavan — where it is functioning out of two floors. In that case, the Delhi government must provide the EDMC another office,” said a senior official at the civic centre, headquarters of both the SDMC and the NDMC.

The property tax office in Lajpat Nagar and Nigam Bhavan near Old Hindu College at Kashmere Gate was being transferred to the DSIIDC in exchange of its Udyog Bhavan office, which housed the office of its commissioner of industries.