LG should decide on assets issue

NEW DELHI, MARCH 25: Following a Public Interest Litigation PIL, the Delhi High Court has asked the Lieutenant Governor to decide whether to disqualify those municipal councillors elected in February 1997, and did not declare their assets within the statutory period of one month after the election. A division bench, comprising Justice Devender Gupta and Justice K.S. Gupta, said in their order that 8220;the administrator the LG should decide the matter in consultation with the Election Commission of Delhi and submit the report before July 7.8221; The direction came in the wake of a PIL filed by the Rashtriya Mukti Morcha RMM through counsels, P.N. Lekhi and Ravinder Kumar. The petitioner alleged that as per the information that they had, only four councillors had declared their assets and even nominated members, including 14 MLAs, 10 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs and 10 others to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCD, failed to comply with the statutory provision in the Municipal Act. There are 134 wards inthe city and each of these is represented by a councillor.

Delhi Mayor Yog Dhyan Ahuja said that all councillors had declared their assets and he had the entire list. 8220;We have all the details and if the LG asks us, we shall submit it to him. Every single councillor has given us a list of their immovable and movable assets and they give us these details every year,8221; he said.