Towns and Cities

Municipal election put off by a day

Thursday, 23 March 2017 10:06 administrator

The Hindu 23.03.2017

Municipal election put off by a day

Date was clashing with Board exam

Voting in the elections to the municipal corporations of Delhi would be held on April 23, not April 22 as announced earlier, the Delhi State Election Commission decided on Wednesday.

The State Election Commission also changed the date for counting, from April 25 to April 26, as school examinations on April 22 were clashing with voting day.

The CBSE examination for Hindi (Elective) among other courses would be held on April 22, and many of the examination centres would also be used as polling stations, said State Election Commissioner S.K. Srivastava. Despite trying, the State Election Commission was unable to overcome the shortage of polling stations on April 22.

As per the notification issued by the Commission, while the date of polling and counting has changed, the rest of the poll schedule remains the same.

Last date of nomination

The election notification will be out on March 27, the last date for nomination would be April 3, scrutiny of documents on April 5 and last date for withdrawal of nominations would be April 8. The Election Commission had released the original schedule on March 14.

The much-awaited polls will decide the fate of 272 councillors. While NDMC and SMDC have 104 seats each, EDMC has 64 seats.

HC stops construction at illegal cremation ground

Thursday, 02 March 2017 05:58 administrator

The Hindu 02.03.2017

HC stops construction at illegal cremation ground

Grave issue:The “Chilla Gaon Shamshan Bhumi” sprung up in September 2016 on the Yamuna floodplain adjoining the main Delhi-U.P. Link Road.Special Arrangement

Site located just 1 km from the Okhla Bird Sanctuary

The Delhi High Court has issued directions against further construction on an alleged illegal cremation ground coming up on the eco-sensitive Yamuna floodplains, just a kilometre away from the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.

Directing the civic agencies concerned to ensure that no more construction takes place, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva on Tuesday sought a response from the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and also the police.

No role: EDMC

The court also directed the EDMC to remove a board put up at the site which gives the impression that the construction is being undertaken by the civic agency, even as it denied any role.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Mayur Kunj Residents’ Welfare Forum through P. J. B. Khorana. The plea highlighted how an illegal “cremation ground” named “Chilla Gaon Shamshan Bhumi” sprung up in September 2016 on the Yamuna floodplains adjoining the main Delhi-U.P. Link Road.

Petitioner’s counsel G. V. Rao said the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) claimed to have handed over the land in question to the municipal corporation years ago. The land now falls under the jurisdiction of the EDMC, which said it never granted any permission for a cremation ground.

RTI plea

Mr. Rao said the cremation ground violated Section 390 of Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, since no permission was given for its establishment. Therefore, he added, the same is liable to be removed by the Commissioner under Section 391 of the Act.

In response to a Right To Information application by Mr. Khorana, the EDMC had said the cremation ground was not authorised by its Public Health Department.

The petition also stated that trees on the floodplains are being illegally felled, which in turn is devastating for the sensitive ecosystem.

The residents also said the new cremation ground was just “land encroachment”, as another cremation ground at Ghazipur located just 2-km away. The petition suspected role of the villagers in the “land grab attempt”.

Urban rule a stumbling block

Wednesday, 01 March 2017 11:51 administrator

The Hindu 01.03.2017

Urban rule a stumbling block

Survey puts Delhi at 9th place, blames low voter turnout for poor governance

Just months before Delhi is set to go for municipal elections, the city fared badly in an annual survey for urban governance.

The fourth edition of the Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS) by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy showed that Delhi slipped from the seventh position in 2015 to the ninth position in 2016. Twenty-one cities were surveyed.

No transparency

The cities were assessed in four parameters — urban planning, urban capacities and resources, empowerment and legitimate political representation, and transparency, accountability and participation. Though Delhi topped the list in urban planning and design, it fared poorly when it came to transparency and accountability of people’s representatives.

“What has worked for Delhi is that it is well planned, financed and staffed. In terms of per capita availability of funds, it is better than a lot of other cities. However, it has scored extremely low in transparency of governance and a balanced political representation of people,” said Janaagraha CEO Srikanth Viswanathan.

Basic information

He said something as basic as the split between capital and revenue in the city’s civic budget was not available easily on the websites of Delhi’s municipal bodies.

“The basis of any city’s governance is its local governance and that’s where change needs to happen. We are still voting for water, electricity and bad roads. But if we vote for good governance, everything will automatically fall in place,” Mr. Viswanathan said.

Ward-level planning

Delhi scored 2.4 out of 10 in transparency and accountability, which pushed it to rank 20 among 21 cities.

In ‘empowered and legitimate political representations’, Delhi scored 3.7, ranking 16.

The city has, however, benefited from a good ward-level planning through mohalla sabhas.

“The voter turnout in MCD polls is generally the lowest. The candidates should not just tell the voters what they will do for them, but also how they will do it. We can make the biggest difference on this level as voters,” he said.

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