Delhi Govt slams BJP-ruled civic bodies on aldermen issue

Delhi Government today slammed the three BJP-ruled municipal corporations for stalling the swearing-in ceremony of aldermen nominated to the civic bodies.
"The nominations of 30 aldermen were made by the city government with due approval and were notified on September 16, 2013. But it is for the first time that such a situation has arisen," Delhi's Revenue Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said.
Aldermen are members of Municipal Corporation nominated from among social workers or experts in different fields, but do not have voting rights.
Lovely said the Delhi Government would recommend superseding of Corporations on the issue for not adhering to rules of Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act.

Earlier, three mayors of Municipal Corporation of Delhi had decided not to administer the oath of office to the aldermen appointed by Delhi government, alleging the appointments were made "with political considerations in mind."
"The leaders of the MCDs should strictly follow the established democratic principles and rules of Municipal houses, otherwise the Delhi government would be forced to take an extreme step," said Lovely.

Lovely also criticised the three MCDs for non-convening the special meeting of the corporations as requested by more than one-fourth members of the total number of the respective Houses. "It is a set practice and non-convening of the special meeting is politically motivated."

The leaders of Congress have written a complaint to UD department and Lieutenant Governor in this regard. "It is a serious matter and seems that BJP is politicising the issue in order to harness political gains," said Lovely.
Raising a question over the functioning of three Municipal Corporations, Lovely said the performance of MCDs is not up to the mark.
"They have failed to contain the rising number of dengue cases. They have been neglecting the basic responsibilities resulting in outbreak of Dengue across the city and accumulation of filth in various parts of the city," he said.