48 villages get urban tag, MCD to hire 70 sweepers amid AAP ruckus

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s House meeting on Tuesday, otherwise devoted to civic reform, was disrupted by an alleged confrontation between AAP councillors and security personnel at the entry gate. The House approved a raft of decisions ranging from urbanising 48 villages to procuring new sanitation machinery, while enforcement teams continued demolishing illegal structures across the city.

Leader of the House Jai Bhagwan Yadav expressed serious concern over the incident, alleging that AAP Leader of Opposition Ankush Narang and other party councillors misbehaved with security personnel deployed at the Municipal House while entering the premises, and engaged in pushing and shoving with them.

Yadav said the House meeting was proceeding smoothly, with councillors engaged in meaningful discussions on pollution, unauthorised construction and other issues of public interest, when AAP councillors, who had not participated in the discussion at the start of the meeting, arrived nearly two hours late.

He alleged that when Narang arrived to enter the House, security personnel asked him to use the designated entry gate, following which Narang and some accompanying councillors argued with the personnel and allegedly engaged in pushing, shoving and misbehaviour.

“Security arrangements are not meant for any particular party or individual; they are in place for the security of the entire Municipal House. Preventing security personnel from performing their duties, pushing or shoving them, or misbehaving with them cannot be justified under any circumstances,” Yadav said.

“The Opposition has every right to put forward its views, and dissent is an important part of democracy. However, the appropriate means of expressing disagreement should be through the rules of the House and the democratic process,” he said.

Amid this friction, the House still pushed through several decisions with direct bearing on residents’ daily lives. It approved declaring 48 villages on Delhi’s outer fringes as urbanised under Section 506(A) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, a move Deputy Mayor Monika Pant said would accelerate the expansion of civic amenities and infrastructure in these areas.

The House also approved procurement of 70 new mechanical road sweepers to strengthen dust control, and 1,000 vacuum-based, battery-operated litter picker machines to improve sanitation efficiency on roads and public spaces.

Beyond the headline decisions, councillors across party lines raised ward-specific issues, from sanitation and road conditions to infrastructure gaps and unresolved local grievances.

Pant separately alleged that AAP councillors were largely missing from discussions on serious issues such as pollution and illegal construction, urging elected representatives to rise above political differences and play a constructive role in the House.

As part of its ongoing crackdown on unauthorised construction, the Corporation carried out 33 demolition actions across all 12 zones on Tuesday, sealed 12 properties and issued three fresh demolition orders for violations of the Master Plan of Delhi and Building Bye-Laws.

This followed an even larger sweep a day earlier, when 29 properties were demolished and 10 sealed across the city.