New Delhi: Nominations for the posts of chairperson and deputy chairperson of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi‘s pivotal standing committee were filed on Friday. Satya Sharma of BJP submitted her papers for the post of chairperson, while Sunder Singh filed for deputy chairperson. For the Aam Aadmi Party, Praveen Kumar and Mohini Jeenwal filed their nominations, respectively, for the posts of chairperson and deputy chairperson.The filing of nominations took place at the municipal secretary’s office at Civic Centre in the presence of mayor Raja Iqbal Singh and leader of the House Pravesh Wahi. Singh welcomed the move, saying, “It is a matter of joy for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi that the standing committee is at long last being constituted. In its absence, significant development projects could not be planned. Now, all members will work together to enhance civic amenities for the people of Delhi.“The election for both posts will take place on June 12. Currently, BJP holds an advantage in the House with 117 councillors, overtaking AAP, which had won 134 seats in the 2022 elections but now has at 97 due to defections, election of some members to the Delhi Assembly and the breaking away of 16 members to form the Indraprastha Vikas Party. Congress has eight members.The formation of the standing committee is expected to accelerate key development and administrative initiatives in the capital that were delayed due to the committee’s non-functioning status. The 18-member panel now has BJP members and seven AAP councillors. Several development projects over Rs 5 crores are awaiting the nod of the standing committee, including finalising an agency for door-to-door garbage collection in the central and west zones, opening a dog park, engaging a new toll tax operator and the development of the Shahjahanabad Interpretation Centre. Work for finalising the layout plan for projects belonging to various agencies is also pending.BJP demonstrated its strength in the MCD ward committee elections on Monday by securing chairman positions in the eight zones of Central, South, Shahdara North, Keshavpuram, Civil Lines, Narela, and Najafgarh. AAP claimed the chairman’s post in four zones: City Sadar Paharganj, Karol Bagh, West and Rohini.
