NDMC councillors demand scrapping of online booking to tackle tent mafia
15 Feb 2014 5:00 AM IST
In order to stop the growing influence of tent mafia in Delhi, councillors from North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) have requested the standing committee to stop online booking of community centers and baraat ghars.
During the standing committee meeting, councillors argued that the process of online booking was not transparent. The tent mafia books community centers months in advance under different names, forcing residents to pay a hefty premium to tent owners.
‘Anybody can book the community center online thereby giving a free hand to tent mafia. This method was brought in for the benefit of the people in the area. However they have fallen prey to these tactics’, said Mukesh Goel, leader of the house, NDMC.
Councillors also demanded that they should have more of a say in booking the ‘baraat ghar’ so as to avoid any malpractices in the booking process. Earlier, community centers were booked with the knowledge of councillors. But the Lieutenant Governor issued an order to make the process online.
Meanwhile, Paharganj councillor Virender Babbar raised the issue of trade licensing. ‘There are thousands of traders who have applied for license, but the process of licensing is so complicated that their application gets rejected, leading to large-scale corruption’, said Babbar.
Mohan Bhardwaj, chairman of the standing committee ordered officials to simplify the procedures of issuing license to traders and advertise it in public places so as to get maximum enrollment. ‘This would be a huge revenue booster for the corporation’, he said.
During the standing committee meeting, councillors argued that the process of online booking was not transparent. The tent mafia books community centers months in advance under different names, forcing residents to pay a hefty premium to tent owners.
‘Anybody can book the community center online thereby giving a free hand to tent mafia. This method was brought in for the benefit of the people in the area. However they have fallen prey to these tactics’, said Mukesh Goel, leader of the house, NDMC.
Councillors also demanded that they should have more of a say in booking the ‘baraat ghar’ so as to avoid any malpractices in the booking process. Earlier, community centers were booked with the knowledge of councillors. But the Lieutenant Governor issued an order to make the process online.
Meanwhile, Paharganj councillor Virender Babbar raised the issue of trade licensing. ‘There are thousands of traders who have applied for license, but the process of licensing is so complicated that their application gets rejected, leading to large-scale corruption’, said Babbar.
Mohan Bhardwaj, chairman of the standing committee ordered officials to simplify the procedures of issuing license to traders and advertise it in public places so as to get maximum enrollment. ‘This would be a huge revenue booster for the corporation’, he said.
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