Delhi Mayor
Shelly Oberoi has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to allow the
functions of the Standing Committee to be exercised by the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD) till the panel is constituted.
The development
comes less than a fortnight after Oberoi during a special session of the MCD
proposed vesting the powers of the standing committee in the House amid a
ruckus with the BJP members opposing the move, which they alleged was
"illegal and unconstitutional".
The plea, in
which the Lieutenant Governor's (LG) Office is the respondent, sought a
direction for the smooth functioning of the civic body.
It said that on
May 17, 2023, the top court had reserved its verdict on a plea challenging the
appointment of nominated persons in the MCD without the aid and advice of the
Delhi government.
The adjudication
of the legality of the nominated persons' appointments will directly and
substantially impact the election of 12 out of 18 members of the Standing
Committee, i.e. it will directly determine the special majority within it.
Thus, the Standing Committee could not be constituted yet, Oberoi said in her
plea.
It said that
while the judgement of the court is awaited, the functions of the Standing
Committee like granting approval to the MCD Commissioner to enter into any
contract involving an expenditure greater than Rs 5 crore and other budgetary
issues, have come to a halt.
"The
prevailing situation has affected a range of governance functions of the MCD,
from the procurement of textbooks and medical supplies for MCD's schools and
health centres to the maintenance of public parks, public toilets, and other
amenities," the plea said.
Oberoi said that
MCD has passed a resolution dated January 15, 2024, resolving that approvals
for contracts involving expenditure greater than rupees five crores, including
where approval will be normally routed through the Standing Committee, be taken
by the competent authorities directly from the Corporation, with a view to
alleviate the situation and preserve the interests of the citizens in Delhi.
"In view of
the petitioner's constitutional responsibilities to the citizens of Delhi, the
present petition has been preferred to seek a direction that the functions of
the Standing Committee pending the adjudication of the legality of the process
of appointment of its electors be exercised by the House of the MCD, i.e. the
'Corporation' composed of all the elected councillors as defined in Section
3(3)(a) of the DMC Act," the plea said.
The plea said
that since the MCD is the body superior to the Standing Committee, in both
power and accountability, it would be appropriate for the functions of the
Committee to be exercised by the MCD in its meetings, till such time the panel
is legally constituted.
"The petitioner
is the Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and is instituting the
present petition to seek appropriate directions for the smooth functioning of
the MCD during the pendency of the constitution of the Standing Committee on
account of the peculiar circumstances," the plea said.