The Hindu : Mayor sitting on proposals for MCD meetings

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 20, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Mayor sitting on proposals for MCD meetings

By Lalit K. Jha

NEW DELHI, FEB. 19. A proposal to involve the elected Councillors more actively in the House meetings of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and make its debates livelier has been gathering dust with the Delhi Mayor, Ashok K. Jain, for over five months now.

The proposal prepared by the Municipal Secretary, Vishnu Swaroop Sharma, has framed guidelines for the "General Issues'' to be raised by municipal Councillors in the House, "Short Notice Inquiry'', "Half an Hour Discussion'' and "Question-Answer''.

As per the guidelines, for the first time probably, the Municipal Commissioner would be required to verbally give answers in the House to the questions asked by the Councillors, which as of now is being given in writing.

The proposals are based on recommendations of the Congress Councillor from Janakpuri, Sanjay Puri, and the Bharatiya Janata Party Councillor from Rohini, Vijender Kumar. They were the only two of the 134 Councillors, who responded to the Mayor's letter of July 8, 2003 in which he had sought suggestions from the elected representatives in this regard.

With the purpose of giving the Councillors an opportunity to raise any issue in the House, the Municipal Secretary in his report on September 5, 2003, has proposed an exclusive 30 minutes period for the General Issue at the start of House meetings. As only one meeting of the MCD House is held every month and that the Councillors wanted to raise issues on matters pertaining to public importance, which was very often turned down by the Mayor, a fixed time would streamline its functioning.

Under this any Councillor can approach the Municipal Secretary two hours before the start of the House about the issue he wants to raise. While, a Councillor can ask not more than three questions, the Municipal Secretary need not mandatorily give a reply there.

"He can send in the written replies later on,'' the proposal said.

Though the Municipal Secretary has proposed to continue with half-an-hour duration for Short Notice Inquiry, the MCD Councillors would have to seek discussion under this, on the preceding working day. Only matters of urgent nature of public interest, which deal with the civic body, can be taken up under Short Notice Inquiry, the proposal said. The existing practice that Councillors can submit questions just two hours before the meeting did not give enough time to the Municipal Commissioner to do the homework. While, there can be no discussion on the answers given by the Commissioner, the members can ask supplementary questions, the proposal said.

The report has proposed another Half an Hour discussion on issues pertaining to the civic body in which the Councillors would be allowed to speak for three minutes only after the Statement of the Municipal Commissioner. "After 25 minutes, the Leader of Opposition in the MCD should express his views and the discussion be concluded by the Leader of the House,'' it said.

Recommending a change in the present Question-Answer set up, the report suggested that the Commissioner mandatorily respond to the question of a Councillor in three working days, which would then be circulated among all the Councillors a day before the meeting of the House. The report has proposed 15 minutes duration for any supplementaries on the reply given by the Commissioner.

Sources in the civic body said the Municipal Commissioner had approved the report on November 28, 2003, but the Mayor was yet to give his consent, resulting in resentment among the Councillors, in particular Mr. Puri and Mr. Kumar. Mr. Puri had pointed this at the last House meeting this week.

Mr. Puri had suggested convening the meeting of the House every fortnight. In place of Half an Hour discussion, he recommended that this be replaced by `Calling Attention' and `Adjournment Motion'. He demanded that there be provision for Starred Question in the House meeting.

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