Amid ruckus this week, the MCD House passed 18 agendas out of 23, of which 3 were deferred and the remaining 2 were referred back for further consideration. The House was adjourned shortly after commencement amid disruptions from BJP and Congress councillors, who sought answers on delayed employee salaries, pensions, house taxes, and other issues.
As soon as the House began, BJP councillors staged a protest, citing a lack of information about the purpose of convening the House. The Leader of the Opposition in MCD, Raja Iqbal Singh demanded the arrest of Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj over “fake medicine supply in government hospitals.” The councillors carried placards with slogans like “Saurabh Bharadwaj ko jail bhejo” (send Saurabh Bharadwaj to jail).
However, four councillors of the Bharatiya Janata Party were suspended from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House for protesting in the House and demanding the arrest of Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Mayor Shelly Oberoi suspended the BJP councillors, including opposition leaders Raja Iqbal Singh, Yogender Verma, Gajender Singh, and Ravi Negi, for 15 days for “creating a ruckus” and said they were not ready for discussions on the issues of the people.
Following his suspension, Raja Iqbal Singh told The Sunday Guardian that they were not informed about the house meeting or its purpose. “When we asked why the house was called today, we were not given any information about this.”
He further noted that during the House meeting, when they asked about the de-sealing of shops following the Supreme Court’s Judicial Committee orders, the mayor had no answer. Singh also pointed out that employees were outside the house, demanding facilities.
Iqbal Singh said that the corporation meetings are being conducted without following the rules and regulations, which will not be tolerated under any circumstances. He added that the minutes of the previous House meeting had not been confirmed in the House meeting; this is an example of disregard for the rules. Apart from this, there was no short notice, and a half-hour questionnaire was scheduled in the House meeting, which is the pivot of the proceedings of the House.
In the meantime, MCD House passed 18 proposals, including the collection of toll taxes, the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) on commercial vehicles, and expenditure sanctions for the purchase of school bags for students.
The corporation has given its nod to engage in a fresh contract for the collection of toll tax and ECC on commercial vehicles entering Delhi at border points for three years. The present MCD contract with Sahakar Global Limited will expire in April 2024, according to the agenda tabled in the House. Further, it also gave administrative approval and expenditure sanction to distribute Rs 120 per child enrolled in pre-primary to Class 5 for school bags during the current year 2023-24.