Why future course at MCD is riddled with uncertainty, friction

New Delhi: The process for the last remaining member of the standing committee in Municipal Corporation of Delhi concluded on Friday. The House is to reconvene on Oct 5. Declaring Friday's election illegal, mayor Shelly Oberoi directed MCD commissioner Ashwani Kumar to hold the standing committee election on Oct 5 at the House meeting, with proper notice to all councillors and legal compliance.Officials, however, ruled out the possibility of holding the election again, stating that everything happened in accordance with DMC Act.
In the backdrop of the current circumstances and frequent confrontations between the administrative and executive wings in MCD, the smooth operation of standing committee or House meetings in the future doesn't look that simple. For example, while the officials might claim to complete the election for all 18 members in the standing committee, a proposal regarding the formal constitution of the panel will anyhow need a nod from the House. Only after that will the process for the election of the standing committee chairman start.
In the event of the mayor opposing this, LG will be required to intervene once again under Section 487 of DMC Act. To date, LG has utilised this section at least twice to intervene in MCD proceedings, including in nominating presiding officers for the ward committee meetings and a presiding officer for the election of the last member of the standing committee.
Considering that the civic body is also planning to move the file for holding elections for a new mayor, the process may face hiccups as it will be routed to LG through the newly appointed CM Atishi. "Even policy related proposals passed by the standing committee will need a final nod from the House, with AAP in majority (124 out of 249 councillors)," said an official.
Senior AAP functionary Manish Sisodia said, "The MCD commissioner, at LG's behest, and the latter, in turn, on BJP's instructions, is tarnishing the image of law. People choose their elected representatives to take decisions in a democratic setup, but these people want the meetings to be presided over by officials. BJP should tell, can an IAS officer preside over Parliament meetings in the absence of PM or speaker; if not, then how can he preside over MCD?" said Sisodia.
Oberoi said the way BJP was repeatedly interfering in MCD's operations was completely unconstitutional.
Reacting to this, BJP MP from west Delhi and former councillor from Dwarka-B ward, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, said since Dec 2022, it was clear that BJP had a majority in ward committees and it could win the elections for the members and standing committee chairman easily, while AAP would get the mayor seat. "But the situation was intentionally made chaotic every time to delay the standing committee election. Their unwanted behaviour has made Delhiites suffer as no work is happening on the ground. A new mayor has not been appointed even months after the due date. Essential projects above Rs 5 crore are not getting nod," she said. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said BJP councillors would make all efforts to get the chairman election conducted soon.
Sachdeva said crucial tasks, ranging from landfill site contracts to door-to-door garbage collection scheme, were stalled due to the absence of the standing committee. "Now that BJP holds a majority in the standing committee, we intend to promptly complete all these critical tasks. And AAP should not stop the process in public interest," he said, adding that though AAP had 124 members in the 250-member House, the reality was that 10 to 15 councillors were fed up with AAP's inefficiency. Delhi BJP media head Praveen Shankar Kapoor claimed that the mayor had postponed the elections as she feared cross-voting by AAP councillors.