The Hindu    09.09.2014  

South Delhi councillors to get Rs.2-5 lakh for improving cleanliness in their wards

Councillors in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation will be getting an additional Rs.2-5 lakh each to improve cleanliness in their wards, Leader of the House Subhash Arya said on Monday.

“The councillors can coordinate with the Zonal Deputy Commissioner and the executive engineer of maintenance to get cleanliness in their wards up to the mark,” said Mr. Arya.

At a special meeting on Monday to discuss sanitation, the House decided to allot funds for each ward so cleanliness can be strengthened. Councillors of both the ruling-BJP and the Opposition Congress complained about the lack of sanitation workers and infrastructure like garbage trucks and auto-tippers.

Congress councillors Farhad Suri and Virender Kasana had on Sunday inspected garbage collection points ( dhalaos ) and public toilets across South Delhi. They found dhalaos overflowing with garbage, and some had even become home to squatters and ragpickers.

Mr. Suri, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the SDMC, said there was an urgent need to overhaul the corporation’s policy on public toilets. “The contractors are not maintaining toilets and are just making money from advertising on the complexes. The Corporation should not outsource obligatory duties like maintaining hygiene,” said Mr. Suri.

Mr. Kasana, the Chittaranjan Park councillor, said that the poor level of cleanliness was because the issues raised in Wards Committees were not being addressed. He demanded that an Additional Commissioner attend the Wards Committee meetings so local issues get resolved.

“The situation is so bad that 90 per cent of our public toilets are not connected to water pipes and sewers. And some dhalaos have been illegally sublet,” said Mr. Kasana.

Meanwhile, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation also held a meeting of the House to discuss sanitation on Monday. However, due to chaotic exchanges between the BJP and the Congress, the meeting was adjourned. The North Corporation will now convene on September 15 to discuss cleanliness.