MCD Elections – Time to debate Restructuring of Multiple Authorities and to make Officialdom More Accountable
In a bold move to counter anti-incumbency in the forthcoming MCD Elections, BJP DEMONETISED all its sitting Councillors.Whatever the reasons for the BJP Top Brass in pinning the blame for MCD’s dismal performance on sitting Councillors, the much need introspection has flawed in diagnosing the REAL MALADY.
On the other hand AAP has chosen to waive of Property Tax, simultaneously claiming that they will pull MCD out of Financial Mess within a year. Little realising that Delhi requires huge investment in automation and for infrastructure that has decayed over time.
Congress has in the past experimented to make MCD more efficient that have come to naught ...... Doubling of Councillors and Trifurcation of MCD ...... were experiments carried out more to achieve POLITICAL STRANGLEHOLD RATHER THAN TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENCY.
THE NETA’S ARE READING IT WRONG, the real solution lies in the restructuring of MCD’s Multiple Authorities and making officials more accountable for the delivery of services. The Commissioner’s and their Deputies sit in plush offices with little or no connect with the public or grassroot understanding of the area under them. They depute an army of JE’s, AE’s, ZE’s etc for field inspections with Area Representatives, what happens thereafter remains a mystery.
GK residents would remember how the Commissioner stood up MP Meenakshi Lekhi on the vexatious Barat Ghar issue and how hemanipulated the AAP/BJP turf war to avoid appearing before the Delhi Vidhan Sabha. What chance does the poor Councillor or the Hapless Citizen has.
The Councillors too must take the blame but the ‘Powers That Be’ of the three Principal Parties by their actions have shown little understanding of how MCD operates or what truly ails it, thereby dashing any hope of streamlining MCD operations.
BJP, Congress and AAP are in a constant blame-game accusing each other for the mess in MCD, giving officials the perfect escape route for their abysmal performance and corruption. There was a time when the Centre, State and MCD had a single party or ruling in State and MCD ...... DID MCD PERFORM ANY BETTER OR WAS IT ANY LESS CORRUPT ?????
Multiplicity of Authority between the Centre, State, Municipality on the one hand and the Maze of Departments with overlapping responsibilities provide an ideal foil for the Babu’s, to shift the entire blame of non performance and corruption to the Political Class who play into their hands ....... AS HAS HAPPENED NOW WITH THE DEMOITISED COUNCILLORS .... the Solution lies elsewhere, THINK.
Warm Regards,
Rajiv Kakria
