Several councillors The Indian Express spoke to said politicians, irrespective of the party they belong to, act as a link between people and bureaucrats.
The BJP and AAP appear to be on the same page when it comes to holding MCD elections, which have been delayed following unification. Several former councillors from the BJP and senior leaders from the AAP are hoping that polls are conducted soon as they believe a civic body run by bureaucrats can lead to a disconnect from the people.
Several councillors The Indian Express spoke to said politicians, irrespective of the party they belong to, act as a link between people and bureaucrats. Former mayor of the erstwhile South MCD, Narendra Chawla, said people have complaints because officers do not connect the same way as politicians. “The politicians are concerned as they have to go for polls,” he said.
Former North MCD mayor Jai Prakash added, “I received several complaints after the rain on Thursday… Recently, a person complained about a street vendor who was there for 30 years and was removed by a bureaucrat… I had to intervene. Officials see things in black and white, while politicians are also emotionally attached to their constituency.”
The MCD election was scheduled in April-May but was put on hold due to the unification process. It appears unlikely to be held this as a fresh delimitation exercise is likely to be undertaken. This is because the Delhi Municipal Corporation Amendment Act, which unified the MCDs, states that the number of seats in the unified corporation will not be more than 250 — down from the existing 272 — and will be determined by the “central government at the time of the establishment of the corporation”.
With the councillors’ term having come to an end, the unified MCD formally came into existence in May.
Recently AAP minister Gopal Rai said the sanitation system in Delhi has crumbled and the Centre has gone into “sleep mode” after the unification. “We demand from the BJP, especially the Union Home Minister, to conduct time-bound delimitation exercise and announce MCD election schedule at the earliest. You can take your time, but people of Delhi need a solution. They have nowhere to go,” Rai said.
Former leader of the opposition from AAP, Vikas Goel, said the bridge between people and bureaucrats has been broken: “There are several issues which need human intervention. Whether it is stray dogs or stray cattle or an overflowing nullah where we had to intervene to get things done.”
Meanwhile, a senior MCD official said people need not worry as there are applications, helplines and local offices in each zone that they can approach. “Websites have details of call centres,” he said.
Source:indianexpress.com