NEW DELHI, February 26: The municipal House was rocked by allegations of land-grabbing against a BJP councillor today. Amidst charges and counter-charges, discussion on the short-inquiry questions could not be taken up as the opposition refused to let the proceedings continue till the matter was settled.As soon as the proceedings of the house began, Congress councillor Suresh Yadav said that the MCD had allotted two houses of 25 square yards each, C-135 and 136, to the Delhi government in a slum area of Ranjit Nagar. He alleged that before the government could take possession, BJP councillor Madan Lal Balmiki took possession of the houses and got the records changed. He also alleged that Balmiki took possession of two other houses, C-133 and 134, also in the same area, even though they were allotted to two employees of the slum department.Yadav claimed that Balmiki threatened the two employees and grabbed their houses. He charged the councillor of not only grabbing four houses, but also grabbing 100 square yards of MCD land lying vacant nearby. In this way, Yadav alleged, Balmiki had grabbed 200 square yards of MCD land and built a huge mansion on it. He said that the whole operation was done with the connivance of MCD officials.Furious at the allegations, BJP councillors started a ruckus and alleged that the Delhi finance minister had also grabbed land, which led to complete chaos.Ignoring the frequent interventions by Mayor Yog Dhyan Ahuja to finish discussions, leader of the Opposition Ram Babu Sharma said that the House would not proceed ahead without coming to a conclusion on the matter. He said that local residents had complained to the Lt Governor and the municipal councillor 15 days ago, but no action had been taken so far. Sharma said that if the matter was not settled today, then other councillors would also indulge in the same practice.In a bid to restore peace in the House, leader of the House Shanti Desai said that the Opposition was politicising the matter. He said that instead of taking up the matter in the House, the councillor should have approached the mayor and discussed it in private. He further said that if the allegations were found to be true, he would himself take action against the councillor and discuss it in the house.When his assurances failed to calm the agitated councillors, the mayor announced that a five-member committee would be constituted to look into the matter. Apart from Sharma, Desai and the mayor, Congress councillor Suresh Yadav and Janata Dal councillor Zameer Ahmed Munna would look into the matter and present a report to the House as soon as possible.
