Poor sanitation, dog menace, monsoon preparedness, and status of desilting were among the few issues discussed on Friday at the first meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) Standing Committee, a body set up after a delay of two-and-a-half years.
The delay caused due to a tussle between AAP and BJP had ended with the appointment of BJP councillor Satya Sharma as chairperson on June 12. Every project worth over Rs 5 crore needs to be passed by this committee.
At the meeting on Friday, Sharma announced that the deadline for availing a 10% rebate on property tax has been extended till July 31.
Over 25 items on the agenda were passed at the meeting, including the purchase of Diflubenzuron 25% WP, used to kill mosquito larvae in its initial stage. This is in line with the initiative taken up by MCD’s Public Health department to prevent and control of vector-borne diseases ahead of the monsoon.
Also passed were items related to the revision of the layout plan of DDU Marg, as well as Delhi University colleges, including Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and St Stephen’s College.
The proposal for SRCC included the construction of a new academic block and the addition of two floors for a girls’ hostel. The approval for this proposal had been pending since 2012. For St Stephen’s College, the approved proposal included the addition of a new academic block, a hostel block, staff quarters, and an auditorium block. A proposal in this regard had been pending for the last 10 years.
The meeting also approved the extension of contract for private security services, sanitation workers, and housekeeping staff at MCD-run hospitals such as Kasturba Hospital, Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis and Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital.
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Leader of Opposition, AAP councillor Ankush Narang, meanwhile, raised the issue of poor sanitation in Central, West, and South zones, questioning the budget sanctioned to each councillor.
At the meeting, councillors sought status and data on drains desilted ahead of monsoon, open drains, JJ Colony clusters, encroachments, illegal parking, and vacant posts of sanitation workers, among others.
A civic body official said, “Authorities have hastened the process of desilting. Till now, 1.56 lakh metric tonne of silt has been removed, while 37,000 small drains have been desilted against the 40,000 target.”
