No coercive action on feeding stray dogs: SC
AAP ‘GUARANTEES’
AAP leaders were levelling baseless allegations to malign the image of MCD. “CM Kejriwal has claimed to giving proper funds to MCD but people of Delhi want to know why his government has not started giving MCD funds as per recommendation of 4th and 5th Delhi Finance Commission despite accepting them in Delhi Assembly. CM Kejriwal should tell people why his government has been every cutting even civic funds of education, health & sanitation heads and is it not true that in 2021-22 the Kejriwal Government is giving MCD funds which were fixed for 2013-14 even as municipal expenses have doubled in between. The revenue of Delhi Government has doubled in last decade but its still giving old fixed funds to MCD,” Sood said.
The elections scheduled to be called over eight months back were aborted when the Centre decided to dissolve Delhi’s erstwhile municipal corporations and reunify them into a single MCD, a process that also involved whittling down the number of wards from 272 to 250. The AAP has focused on garbage and poor sanitation as key issues in the run-up to the polls and attacked the BJP over them. Kejriwal asked people to vote for those who work and not for those who create obstacles. The AAP releases a list of guarantees before every election, which in effect is its poll manifesto. On Thursday, the BJP released a “Vachan Patra” (a commitment letter) ahead of the MCD polls promising slum dwellers houses in multi-storey complexes near their clusters.
Kejriwal said the AAP’S guarantees never fail and added most of those outlined ahead of the 2020 assembly polls had been fulfilled. He slammed the BJP saying it is not serious about the promises it makes. “They release a Vachan Patra and do nothing for the next five years. Later, they change the name and bring a Sankalp Patra. The BJP will throw this Vachan Patra in the dustbin soon after the MCD election.”
He cited the BJP’S manifesto for the 2017 MCD polls and said it promised to make Delhi garbagefree. “...but Delhi is overflowing with garbage. They promised to bring funds directly from the Centre. They did not bring a penny,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal said the BJP promised to fix landfill sites ahead of the 2017 polls. “Now the BJP leaders are saying the sites are everywhere, which means that they do not wish to fix them... They promised to eradicate corruption. They accepted their councillors were corrupt and dropped all of them. But the BJP did not send them to jail... Satyendar Jain [AAP minister] was sent to jail.”
He blamed the BJP for stopping the Delhi government from delivering ration at beneficiaries’ doorsteps. “We will make the entire process of building plans easy, and take everything online so that there is a minimum human interface. Bribes for constructing buildings will also stop,” he said and promised a solution to the problem of inadequate parking space for vehicles.
He said traders are disappointed with the MCD and have to pay bribes for obtaining licences. “We will simplify and digitise the system. We will end conversion and parking fees. We will end inspector raj. We will open up all the sealed shops. We will hear out all the concerns of traders and resolve them,” Kejriwal said, attempting to woo the trader community, a crucial vote bank.
“How to get funds [for the MCD] is my responsibility. Earlier when the Bjp-ruled the MCD they would say that the Delhi government is not providing us with funds. The Central government has been holding on to the funds that it was to give to the Delhi government, but we continue to do our work. We do not stop our work just because the funds from the Centre have not come. We do not behave like young children and cry on small matters. The BJP just needs to stop the corruption that it indulges in and then all of a sudden there will be sufficient funds for all the projects undertaken by the MCD. Once we come to power, we will end all corruption and there will be sufficient funds for all the work,” Kejriwal said.
Replying to a question, Kejriwal said: “This time around the BJP will go on to win less than 20 seats from the 250 wards of the MCD. I can give this to the media in writing.”
The MCD is entrusted with civic governance, primary education, health services, and sanitation. In 2017, the AAP contested the MCD election for the first time and emerged as the second-biggest party.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said no coercive action should be taken against citizens feeding stray dogs, after the Bombay high court on October 21 passed a blanket ban on feeding stray canines and directed Nagpur municipal authorities to penalise those violating its order with a fine of ₹200.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and JK Maheshwari found the omnibus ban imposed by the Nagpur bench of the HC to be unreasonable and said: “If stray dogs are not fed, they will become more aggressive.”
The bench said some part of the HC order needed modification and sought the responses from the Nagpur municipal corporation (NMC) and the Animal Welfare Board by November 16.
Without staying the HC order, the bench directed the NMC authorities not to take any coercive action against citizens who violate the high court’s order.
The high court passed a slew of directions on October 21 on two separate petitions by Nagpur residents seeking urgent solution to the growing menace of stray dogs. The HC recognised the fact that the problem caused by stray dogs had “increased beyond tolerable levels”.