SDMC commissioner to appear before Delhi House panel today

The Questions and Reference Committee of the Delhi Assembly has summoned the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) commissioner on Tuesday, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said on Monday, claiming the civic body had “lied” to a question over MLALAD funds.

Bhardwaj accused the BJP-led civic bodies of stalling developmental projects undertaken by the MLAs by not utilising their “discretionary” funds and also not issuing No Objection certificates (NOC).

The SDMC had recently passed a resolution directing its staff not to issue NOCs and take developmental work like installing LED lights and equipments in parks using MLALAD in areas falling under its jurisdiction.

“MCD is sitting over funds provided by the MLAs. They are also not issuing NOCs to government departments to undertake projects using these funds. And they claim they are short of money,” Bhardwaj told a press conference.

He said the proceedings of the House Committee will be open to the media to bring “transparency”. Apart from the SDMC Commissioner, Director of local bodies and other senior officials have been summoned by the committee.

In a similar attack last week, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had accused the SDMC of indulging in “dirty politics” and had also directed the director of local bodies under the Delhi government not to execute two resolutions passed by the civic body in which it decided not to install LED lights and children’s play equipment in parks using MLA funds.

“The parks under the MCDs are dirty, roads are damaged, drains are broken, they say they have no 

funds. When they fail to do anything, MLAs carry out this work but the MCD is creating hurdles in many things. They delay giving estimates and issuing NOCs. In Jangpura, benches installed in a park with MLA funds were removed. MCD officials are told not to accompany MLAs on rounds. Their corporators thrive on corruption,” Sisodia had said.