An official order has scheduled the elections for the appointment of chairmen and deputy chairmen for each of the 12 zonal bodies in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on September 4.
These elections, governed by the Delhi Municipal Corporation Regulations Act of 1957, will be conducted through a secret ballot. Voting will take place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Hansraj Gupta Auditorium and Satya Narayan Bansal Auditorium at MCD headquarters, covering various zones of the civic body. “The commissioner, in pursuance of regulation 53 (1) of the DMC Regulation 1958, has fixed the first meeting of the ward committees for the election of chairman and deputy chairman of the ward committees and one member of the standing committee from 12 ward committees on Sept 4 at Hansraj Gupta Auditorium, first floor, and Satya Narayan Bansal Sabhagar on the second floor at Civic Centre,” stated the office notice issued by the municipal secretary office.
Councillors have until August 30 to submit their nominations to the municipal secretary. The opposition has long demanded elections for the standing committee, claiming that delays have hindered financial allocations for major projects in the civic body.
On August 23, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi directed the municipal secretary to initiate the election process, as outlined in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act of 1957, for the election of chairmen, deputy chairmen of the ward committee, and one member to the standing committee from the ward committee. citing the Supreme Court’s judgement on August 5, which stated that the lieutenant governor had the power to nominate aldermen
to MCD.
The absence of these committees over the past 20 months has been blamed for policy paralysis in the civic body.