L-G delegates financial powers to MC Commissioner to tackle solid waste

Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena on Monday approved the delegation of financial powers exceeding Rs 5 crore to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner, officials said.

The decision is aimed at expediting essential municipal services, which have been severely hampered due to the absence of a Standing Committee and prolonged “inaction” by Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, L-G officials said.

“On July 10, the MCD had requested the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) to delegate these financial powers as per Section 202 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. However, the file remained stagnant at the minister’s level for months, leading to significant delays in critical service approvals,” an official said.

“The L-G Secretariat has intervened multiple times, recalling the file under Rule 19(5) of the Transactions of Business Rules, but the necessary actions from the minister’s side have been elusive,” stated an official from the L-G’s office.

“In light of the urgent need to manage municipal services effectively, this delegation of financial powers is not just timely, but essential,” it added.

The approved contracts in the order include collection and transportation of Municipal Solid Waste (Rs 1,137.98 crore), waste-to-energy facility at Narela and Bawana (Rs 604.26 crore), bio-mining of legacy waste at Singhola, Okhla, Ghazipur and Bhalswa.

The MCD had submitted its proposal again on September 5, officials said, which received the Chief Minister’s approval before being forwarded to the L-G.

The AAP, in its response, said the L-G office should stop malicious propaganda of lies and deceit. The file came to Bharadwaj on September 6 and was approved on the same day, they said.

“It is unfortunate that the constitutional office of the L-G has stooped so low that they have developed a habit of planting false stories to defame the ministers of the elected government. The L-G office has been so desperate that they wanted unchecked powers be granted to the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, who is the favourite officer of the L-G,” it said in a statement.

The elected government was ready to increase the financial powers of the Municipal Corporation beyond Rs 5 crore subject to the approval of the MCD House, it added.

“It is the L-G who should explain that as to why the officers, who are directly under his control, kept on delaying this matter for more than a month even after the approval of the minister. It has also been put on record that it is only because of the SC that these files have been approved by the L-G otherwise they would have kept these files also pending for the reasons now known to the people of Delhi,” they further said.