In last term, most complaints MCD got related to water supply & sewage, says report by non-profit
The 'Report on the Status of Wards Committees of Delhi Municipal Corporation' also highlights the gaps in the functionality of MCD’ 12 zonal committees. The report presents a comparative picture of ward committee activity across the previous and ongoing terms of the MCD.
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Ward committees in the previous term of the MCD between 2017 and 2022 were far more active than the ongoing term (2023-2028), as per the report.Complaints related to water supply and sewerage issues topped the chart as MCD received an average of 387,594 complaints annually between 2017 and 2023 — though these issues do not fall under the civic body’s jurisdiction, according to a recent white paper released by non-profit Praja Foundation.
The ‘Report on the Status of Wards Committees of Delhi Municipal Corporation’ also highlights the gaps in the functionality of MCD’ 12 zonal committees. The report presents a comparative picture of ward committee activity across the previous and ongoing terms of the MCD.
Ward committees in the previous term of the MCD between 2017 and 2022 were far more active than the ongoing term (2023-2028), as per the report.
Of the total issues raised in all committees (44,219 out of 73,035), 61% were brought up in the ward committee meetings, as per the findings in the previous term. In the current term, the report states that the absolute number of issues raised in ward committee meetings decreased by five times, while issues raised across all committees dropped by 6.1 times compared to the previous term. No issues were raised in the ward committees in 2023, as the committees were not constituted due to a political deadlock between AAP and BJP.
In the last term, of the 2,035 committee meetings held by MCD, 739 meetings (36%) were held by the ward committees.
Even as ward committee meetings in the ongoing term make up 47% of total committee meetings held (68 of 145), the percentage of meetings is only high because only two of the other 17 MCD committees have been formed so far.
Highlighting the need for direct citizen involvement in these ward committee discussions, Sunil Kumar, former secretary (Panchayati Raj), said, ”Without a functional ward committee, there is a disconnect between citizens and their local governments. This results in weak accountability, poor responsiveness, and opaque use of public resources.”
Milind Mhaske, CEO of Praja Foundation, also highlighted the vitality of these committee meetings in solving citizen issues.
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