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MCD clears stuck public utility projects stalled for 2.5 years
Key initiatives aim to enhance sanitation and streetlight operations across Delhi, and addressed community dog management and illegal meat shops near schools.
The standing committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Wednesday approved a slew of long-pending infrastructure proposals, including a multilevel parking project, a new waste processing facility at Ghazipur, road and streetlight revamps in south and west Delhi, and sanitation upgrades in a significant policy push after a prolonged delay.
The approvals come after more than two and a half years of deadlock, caused by political and legal disputes over the formation of the standing committee.
This was only the second meeting of the newly constituted panel, which reviewed over 130 policy proposals and layout plan changes. Officials said that 23 of 130 resolutions were cleared.
Parking, lighting, roads
A senior MCD official said that the panel has cleared the proposal for an automated multi-level puzzle parking facility at Bharat Darshan Park in Punjabi Bagh, which will accommodate 188 vehicles.
"The parking facility will help ease congestion at this busy west Delhi junction near a high-foot-fall tourist attraction," the official said.
The panel also gave its nod to a comprehensive project for the operation and maintenance of streetlight infrastructure in the south, central, west, and Najafgarh zones. "This will help upgrade the existing LED net-work in areas formerly under the South MCD," the official added.
Chairperson of the committee Satya Sharma, announced that the panel has approved the "One Road-One Day" initiative.
Waste management
It also cleared a long-stalled proposal to set up an ingesta and dung drying processing plant at the Ghazipur slaughterhouse Delhi's only licensed slaughter facility.
The project had been repeatedly flagged by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had asked MCD to ensure scientific disposal of slaughter waste.
In May 2022, operations at Ghazipur slaughterhouse were suspended.
The move came after the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) withdrew consent, citing NGT's directions and violation of environmental norms.
Though the facility was later reopened with a conditional go-ahead, the waste processing unit could not be set up due to the absence of a functioning standing committee.
The panel also approved the procurement of 17 backhoe loaders for sanitation in South Delhi, and deployment of 24 mechanical road sweepers to tackle dust pollution on arterial roads.
Meat shop regulations
In response to concerns raised by members over increasing issues related to community dogs, the panel decided to formulate a comprehensive community dog policy and constitute a committee for the same.
Addressing complaints about illegal meat shops near schools and religious places, Sharma said, "Clear instructions have been issued to shut down all meat shops operating within 100 metres of religious institutions and schools."
Another proposal for strengthening garbage collection and sanitation operations in the Central zone was also passed.
Layout plans, health care
Of the 70 layout plan proposals presented, only one - for a new DTC bus depot in Hari Nagar was approved. All private layout modification proposals were deferred for the second consecutive meeting.
Officials said that all projects with financial implications above ₹5 crore and layout changes require the standing committee's clearance.
The meeting, which lasted over three and a half hours, also saw a short notice question on water quality and waterborne diseases raised by committee deputy chairman Sunder Singh.
Responding to it, the public health department reported that 2,255 water samples had been tested so far in 2024-25, of which 409 were of poor quality.
Of 870 random samples taken this financial year, 174 failed quality checks.
"We jointly undertake these tests with DJB and when samples fail, we inform the DJB to take corrective action. Chlorination and ORS camps are set up. However, no legal action or penalties are issued against DJB," a senior official told the commit-tee. Sharma responded that "penal provisions must also be invoked to ensure accountability."
Community dog issues
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will form a committee within the next two to three weeks to draft a new policy on community dogs, said Satya Sharma, chairperson of the MCD's standing committee.
The issue was raised at Wednesday's standing commit-tee meeting by councillor Rajpal Singh, who flagged the shortage of shelters in the city.
"There are only 20 operational centres. Usually, when a dog bites someone, the animal is picked up and dropped in a village-but this doesn't solve the issue," he said. Singh also noted that while ₹1.2 crore has been spent on managing community dogs, there hasn't been enough action on the ground.
He suggested that each municipal zone should have a shelter and a committee should identify potential sites.
Sharma, speaking to HT after the meeting, confirmed that the upcoming committee will examine multiple aspects, including shelter infrastructure, protocols for housing dogs, and rules around euthanasia.
"Before finalising the committee, we will inspect all 20 operational centres to assess their functioning," she said.
These centres, man by vari-ous non-governmental organi-sations (NGOs), primarily han-dle sterilisation and euthanisa-tion. Sterilised dogs are kept for two days and then released. However, animal wel-fare groups have cautioned against expanding shelter capacity.
Ambika Shukla, trustee of People for Animals, said, "Putting healthy dogs in shelters is short-sighted and impractical.
It's expensive and increases the risk of disease outbreaks."Shukla advocated for strict adherence to Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, which mandate sterilisation, vaccination, and returning dogs to their original location. "We need more ABC centres with better oversight," she said.
Opposition raises issues
Opposition members from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) raised several issues during the meeting, including severe waterlogging and the deteriorating condition of MCD school infrastructure, shortage of guards and nursery-level teachers, as well as vacancies in supervisory roles in the health department.
