Delhi panel approves waste audit, gaushalas
The MCD Standing Committee approved 58 proposals, including an IIT Delhi waste audit and a request for land to build new shelters for stray cattle.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi's Standing Committee cleared 58 pending policy matters in a four-hour meeting on Tuesday. The committee had not met since March due to vacant leadership posts.
Among the approvals was a directive to survey all illegal pre-schools and creches operating in the city. This follows the recent alleged assault of a child at an east Delhi pre-school. Standing Committee chairperson Satya Sharma said officials were told to identify such institutions and ensure strict compliance with safety standards.
Members from both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party had raised concerns about unregulated pre-primary schools, citing the Maujpur incident. AAP members, however, objected to anticipatory approvals for several large projects, alleging irregularities. The BJP-majority panel cleared the proposals anyway.
Waste Management and Cleanliness
The committee approved engaging IIT Delhi to conduct a baseline assessment, gap analysis, and ward-wise plans for Delhi's waste management system. The project is worth ₹2 crore.
MCD commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar stated that new waste collection agencies for the South, West, and Central zones would be fully operational by October 31. Contracts in the North and North-West zones are under review. He added that deployment of mechanical road sweepers would begin by November, with some new battery-operated machines being airlifted due to the geopolitical crisis in West Asia.
The panel also approved replacing streetlights in six of MCD's 12 zones, covering North and Outer Delhi. The new intelligent lighting system is expected to save around ₹5 crore annually.
Infrastructure and Urban Expansion
Proposals for a super-speciality hospital and medical college at the Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis under a public-private partnership model were cleared. New layout plans for constructing blocks at Hindu College and Hansraj College were also approved.
The committee approved the commissioner's report proposing an enforcement cell with 21 teams to tackle illegal construction in 1,511 unauthorised colonies. A proposal to convert 48 rural villages into urban villages was passed, which would bring them fully under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.
Stray Cattle and Animal Shelters
The panel decided to approach the Delhi government for land to establish new gaushalas, or cattle shelters. Officials cited pressure on the four existing facilities, which they said were operating beyond capacity. The issue of stray cattle was discussed in the meeting.
The committee also discussed swine flu, the condition of MCD schools, and the protection of heritage buildings. The meeting addressed a substantial backlog of proposals that had accumulated since March.
