Now Reading: MCD makes councillor nod mandatory for RWA park maintenance
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MCD makes councillor nod mandatory for RWA park maintenance
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has made councillor approval mandatory for resident welfare associations and NGOs seeking to maintain parks and green areas under its public-private partnership scheme. The proposal was passed…
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has made councillor approval mandatory for resident welfare associations and NGOs seeking to maintain parks and green areas under its public-private partnership scheme. The proposal was passed during the house meeting on Monday, along with an increase in park maintenance payments to up to Rs 13,500 per acre.
A senior BJP councillor said the recommendation requirement was introduced to avoid confusion and disputes among multiple RWAs operating in the same area. The move comes amid a legal challenge faced by the Delhi government's Lakshmi Yojana, which also requires beneficiaries to obtain an endorsement letter from a local MP.
The MCD accepted that due to a shortage of gardeners, the department was facing problems in maintaining parks and has started inviting fresh applications. RWAs applying must have completed three years of registration. The MCD commissioner will have the right to terminate the agreement without assigning any reason. No permanent changes or commercial activity will be allowed in the parks.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The civic body's move aims to formalise what had already become a stopgap arrangement: many RWAs were paying out of pocket to maintain parks after the MCD stopped payments in 2022 due to financial strain. By raising the maintenance rate to a uniform Rs 13,500 per acre across all three erstwhile zones, the MCD is also trying to end the disparity of the pre-unified era. The mandatory councillor recommendation echoes the provision in the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana, itself challenged in court, though the MCD says its purpose is simply to resolve which RWA legitimately represents a locality. Practically, this means RWAs already caring for a park will now need a councillor's letter to continue. How many of the roughly 13,000 parks in Delhi fall under active RWA maintenance will determine the workload on councillors across 250 wards.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
