MCD members voice concern over continuing unauthorised structures

New Delhi, July 12 (UNI) Members of the Municipal corporation of Delhi today voiced their serious concern over the "deep rooted" corruption in the administration of the corporation wherein several corrupt MCD engineers were abetting the coming up of unauthorised constructions in the capital in return for huge bribes.

''Corruption in the MCD will not be tolerated at any cost.

Firstly, these officers allow the unauthorised contructions to take place and after a few months they demolish the same structure, on which the hapless citizens of Delhi have spent their life's hard-earned savings,''chairman of the Standing Committee Jai Kishen Sharma today told members at a meeting of the committee.

The issue came up during discussion of a short notice questioning the authority of MCD Commissioner A K Nigam in dismissing 18 executive engineers of the corporation in April without holding an enquiry against them, while letting go scot free several other engineers against whom the enquiry had been going on on the order of the court in January.

Raising the issue, Mr Sanjay Puri of the Congress said as per regulation 7 and section 95(1) of the Delhi Municipal Act, 1957 and the Municipal corporation of Delhi (Service and Control) regulation 1959, any disciplinary proceedings against category A posts could only be taken by the MCD house.

Speaking on the topic, Mr Vijender Gupta of the BJP said in January, the court had ordered the MCD to carry out, within two months, disciplinary proceedings against several corrupt engineers who had abetted the coming up of unauthorised constructions. However, even after the expiry of the two months period, no action was taken against the guilty officer despite an enquiry conducted on them.

Then, in April, the Commissioner, all of a sudden, dismissed 18 executive engineers without even holding an enquiry against them and even though he was no competent to take action against the officers of the said rank.

''The Commissioner should have referred the matter to the House before taking any action on the engineers,''Mr Gupta said.

In his reply to the notice, the Commissioner said as per the Delhi Service Regulation (Control and Appeal) Act, MCD Commissioner was also competent to act against category A officers. He said as per an amendment in the Delhi Municipal Act, 1957, carried out in 1993, the Commissioner was empowered to take action against officers upto the rank of Additional Commissioner.

He said if the members were not satisfied by his reply, the matter could be referred to the additional solicitor general for his opinion.

The Chairman asked the MCD administration to present before the House till July 19 all the facts and files pertaining to the matter.

UNI AR KD HS1852