The Hindu : New Delhi News : Arti Mehra to be Delhi Mayor

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Wednesday, Apr 18, 2007
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New Delhi

Arti Mehra to be Delhi Mayor

Staff Reporter

The BJP Councillor files nomination papers for the post unchallenged

JUBILANT MOOD: BJP Councillors on their way to the office of the Municipal Secretary to file nomination papers for various posts in the Corporation on Tuesday: (from left) Vijender Gupta nominated for the post of MCD Standing Committee Chairman and A rti Mehra nominated as Mayor. Photo: V. Sudershan

NEW DELHI: Providing a clean administration, ensuring better sanitation and increasing revenue collection of the cash-strapped Municipal Corporation of Delhi figure high on the priority list of Bharatiya Janata Party Councillor Arti Mehra, who filed her nomination papers for the post of Mayor at Town Hall here on Tuesday. Sawinder Jeet Singh Bajwa of the BJP filed his nomination papers for the post of Deputy Mayor.

Elections for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be held at the first meeting of the newly constituted MCD House on April 23. No other nominations have been filed for the two posts on the last day for filing nominations.

Addressing a press conference, Ms. Mehra said: "The people of Delhi have given us an overwhelming mandate for a corruption-free administration and our party is committed to that. To provide a clean Delhi also figures high on our priority list. We are committed to making the Capital garbage-free and people will notice the difference soon. The problems of delayed and improper de-silting recur every year and lack of sanitation then causes dengue and other diseases. This time round we will come out with an action plan on de-silting and ensure that process is completed well before onset of monsoon."

Emphasising the need to enhance the revenue of the municipal body, Ms. Mehra said around 1,000 parking lots in the Capital were being illegally run by the parking-mafia causing a great deal of revenue loss to the municipal body and more than half the properties were still out of the property tax net. "The subject of advertising revenue is close to my heart and it has not been tapped to its potential. We would ensure that hazardous hoardings are removed from the city adhering to the guidelines of the Supreme Court. And in future, hoardings will be put in such a manner that they add both to the aesthetic beauty of the city and the MCD revenue," added the Hauz Khas Councillor. Elected to the MCD House for the third time in a row, Ms. Mehra has been on several important committees including Appointments, Promotions, Disciplinary and Allied Matters Committee.

Senior BJP leader Vijender Gupta, who filed nomination papers for the post of MCD Standing Committee member, has also been declared the party's candidate for the post of Standing Committee Chairman. Stating that his party was working on a "comprehensive blueprint" to provide relief to the people from the Supreme Court-ordered sealing drive in the Capital, Mr. Gupta said: "We are committed to bringing a one-time amnesty scheme to provide permanent relief to the traders. Also, we seek to amend the relevant sections of the DMC Act that empower the MCD to seal properties to stop misuse. More roads will be cleared for mixed land use notification before May 7 deadline and more items will be added to the list of professionals."

The following members also filed their nominations for the six posts of Standing Committee member: Sarita Chaudhary (BJP), Yogender Chandolia (BJP), Rajni Abbi (BJP), Chandi Ram (Independent), Ajit Singh (Congress), Jai Kishan Sharma (Congress) and Anita Babbar (Congress). Nominations for the four posts of member of the Education Committee were filed by Prithviraj Raj Sawhney (BJP), Azad Singh (BJP), Veena Sharma (BJP), Mukesh Goel (Congress).

The elections for all these posts will also be held on April 23.

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