The Union Home Ministry has pulled up New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) for ‘mismanagement,’ pointing at losses incurred by its power department and the failure of the civic body to check unregulated ‘teh bazaari’, or street vending, in the area under its jurisdiction.
NDMC got a letter from the Union Ministry a few days back seeking its response on the issues and a council meeting in this regard was called on Saturday, said NDMC chairperson Jalaj Shrivastava, who added that a detailed response in the matter had been sent to the Home Ministry. With the Home Ministry seeking an explanation for NDMC’s power department sustaining losses, the civic body in its response said that these were a result of the change in the method of supply of electricity. NDMC was referring to the practice of supplying electricity according to guidelines fixed by DERC.
“As per DERC guidelines, surplus energy has to be sold first to discoms in Delhi at prices determined through a mechanism fixed by DERC. NDMC is not getting a proper price for the surplus electricity,” the civic body said. Till 2005, NDMC was supplying electricity in its area according to its own format, which allowed the surplus power to be sold at the best prevalent rate. But that system was done away with by DERC and the surplus electricity has to be now sold to the discoms at a very low rate as compared to the purchase rate, Shrivastava said.
As to the practice of unregulated ‘teh bazaari’ in the NDMC area, the home ministry said it posed a “security threat” in the VIP lutyens Zone. With the ministry asking the civic body to underline the steps taken to keep a check on such vendors, NDMC said that squatting in the area was being regulated as per the directions of Supreme Court.
NDMC has been restrained from removing unauthorised squatters due to orders of high court and Supreme Court which were approached by the vendors, the civic body said.