Mayor faces bricks, bouquets at MC meeting, agenda cleared in 3 mins

The General House meeting began at Red Cross Bhawan around 3 pm today. It was the second meeting under Mayor Vaneet Dhir in 10 months. Before the start of the meeting, the Mayor urged all councillors to maintain decorum, assuring them that everyone would be given an opportunity to speak without interruption.

Zero Hour discussions began at 3:15 pm and continued for more than two hours. After Zero Hour ended, the agendas were passed in less than 3 minutes.

Sarcastic comments between Dhir and the councillors became the main highlight of the session. Unlike previous meetings, many councillors also praised Dhir and said he was doing good work.

Councillor Pawan Kumar raised the first query, asking how many machines and vehicles had been procured recently.

The MC Commissioner responded that equipment worth Rs 42 crore had been approved under Smart City funds, including seven tippers, nine JCB machines, four jetting machines, CNG autos, etc.

Pawan questioned why these were not purchased from the corporation’s own funds. He further expressed concern over the rising stray dog menace, stating that no proper sterilization had been carried out for months and no new dog-catching machinery had been procured.

Responding to this, the Mayor stated that 32 stray dogs were picked up on the previous day and that preparations for an operation theatre were underway, which would increase sterilisation capacity to 100 dogs.

Councillor Titu accused the Mayor of focusing only on his own Ward 62, and neglecting others.

To this, the Mayor said in the ward of some councillors, works worth Rs 6 crore will be done, while works worth a few lakhs will be carried in his own ward.

Other points

A councillor highlighted the persistent traffic jams around C7 level crossing, which remains closed for nearly an hour at a time, causing blockages on the 66-ft road.

Another councillor Bunty questioned the disposal of waste extracted during super-suction cleaning, alleging that the sludge was being dumped from one locality to another without facing penalties.

Councillor Jasleen Sethi expressed concern over garbage accumulation in her ward, saying areas in Namdev Chowk had effectively become dumping grounds with no lifting being done.

A councillor also flagged the issue of residents in Makhdoompura being forced to consume contaminated water.

Political exchanges

Councillor Rajiv Dhingra pointed out that the agenda only mentioned works related to the Mayor's own ward, remarking, “It seems your government is on its way out, that is why you want to complete the works by then.”

To this, Dhir responded with a smile, saying that Dhingra is a good friend of his. "I want to say that no one makes better 'khyali pulao' than him. He wanted to be a mayor and MLA as well. He had said AAP would lose Tarn Taran elections, but the day we won, (Enna ne mera phone vi nai chakkeya) he didn't even answer my call," he laughed.

Dhingra also criticized the recent inauguration of Burlton Park, alleging that arrangements worth Rs 2 crore were made under Delhi’s direction.

The Mayor made a sarcastic comment again, saying he could sit down now as that media had clicked his photos that he wanted.

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City infrastructure concerns

Councillors from various wards raised serious sewage issues. It was noted that the 200 MLD STP at Pholariwal currently handles nearly 80 per cent of the city’s waste water, prompting calls for better load distribution across other sewage treatment plants.

Councillor from Ward number 1 said there was a huge problem of bad and broken roads and sewerage problem in Indra Colony.

Many councillors also raised the issue of not enough sweepers in their respective wards.

A councillor said there were 35 colonies in his ward, while only four sweepers were there.

Councillor Jaspal Multani also levelled allegations on MC officials, saying that officials don't pick the calls.

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Box: Chaos outside Red Cross Bhawan

A drama was witnessed outside Red Cross Bhawan even before the commencement of the Municipal Corporation’s General House meeting, after BJP leader Sheetal Angural, KD Bhandari, accompanied by party workers and supporters, gathered at the venue. The situation escalated into chaos, prompting police intervention to prevent the group from entering the premises. The opposition raised slogans against the MC.