No house for two of Delhi’s new mayors

North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Mayor Meera Aggarwal has already moved into the mayor’s house in Timarpur, which former Mayor Rajni Abbi had occupied.

North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Mayor Meera Aggarwal has already moved into the mayor’s house in Timarpur, which former Mayor Rajni Abbi had occupied.

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But her east and south Delhi counterparts haven’t been so lucky. Both are on a lookout for properties appropriate to the posts they hold.

Being the richest municipal body, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is looking for a house that has facilities allotted to no less than an MP. The SDMC political wing, headed by Leader of House Subhash Arya, has decided to ask the Centre to allot an MP bungalow for Mayor Savita Gupta.

“We will approach Sheila Dikshit who had said she will arrange for a smooth split of the MCD. Now let finding a bungalow for our mayor be her headache,” Arya said.

In the unified MCD, the mayor’s bungalow in Timarpur was provided to the holder of the post. With the split, the property now belongs to NDMC.

SDMC has also decided to build itself a separate headquarter. It owns a two-acre plot in Dwarka but the municipal body wants it to be accessible to all. “We can purchase land from DDA and build a headquarter. The plot in Dwarka will be too far and inaccessible for people from Badarpur and Najafgarh,” said Arya.

The civic body at present operates from the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Centre that belongs to the NDMC.