Andhra

Civic Body For Tirumalai

Andhra Pradesh Assembly on July 12 passed the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Bill. The Bill, which is applicable to the whole State, has a separate chapter for Tirumalai-Tirupati Devasthanams, which provides for the constitution of a Board of Trustees for the T. T. D. for a three year period, consisting of not more than 11 persons including three legislators, one person belonging to the Scheduled Caste and a woman. The persons so appointed shall be those who belong to Hindu religion. The Board of Trustees shall by a resolution constitute a civic committee for Tirumalai Hill area, which will consist of the T. T. D. Chairman, Executive Officer, four other members of the Board of Trustees, to be nominated by the T. T. D. Board and three others to be elected by the rasidents of Tirumalai area.

Delhi

Finances Of Civic Bodies

The progress of the work of the commission appointed by the Union Government to inquire into the financial position of Delhi Corporation and the New Delhi Municipal Committee and suggest measures to improve it has been very slow.

An inkling of the slow progress is provided by the fact that all that the commission (formed over a year ago) has done so far is to prepare a questionnaire, which has now been issued to officers and members of the two civic bodies.

The main reason for the delay in the work of the commission, which is headed by Mr. B. Gopala Reddy, former Minister of State of Information and Broadcasting, is stated to be that the Government did not initially sanction staff for it. It was only It was only recently that this was sanctioned. A research officer has been recruited by the commission.

No Staff

Even the preparation of the questionnaire took more time than it should have because there was no staff. It was prepared by Mr. A. V. Venkatasubban, secretary to the commission who is also the Housing Commissioner, Delhi Administration.

The commission was expected to submit its report by the end of the last year. But soon after its first meeting came the IndoPakistan conflict and its staff requirement was understandably ignored. Towards the end of the last year the commission's tenure was extended; it is scheduled to expire on July 31. But the commission will be seeking a further extension of three to four months.

The commission will start scrutinizing the replies to the questionnaire by the end of August. The questionnaire will be issued. to the public also in a day or two. Metropolitan Council

Everything is now set for the introduction of the Metropolitan Council by August 15. The much-delayed Government Notification giving effect to the Delhi Administration Act has been published and with it the laws governing the future political setup of Delhi have become effective. The Notification set the ball rolling for a new chapter in the city's political life. It makes a specific reference to the formation of an Interim Council "until a Metropolitan Council has been duly constituted and summoned to meet for the first session under the provisions of Part II of this Act."

Forty-two members are to be elected by an electoral college comprising municipal councillors and other elected representatives on the basis of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Not more than five members, "not being in the service of Government" will be nominated by the Government. Provision is also made for Presidential intervention in the event of any difficulty in the constitution of the Interim Council.

The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee,

longopposed to anything short of full-fledged democratic set-up, has now formally agreed to give the Metropolitan Council a fair and thorough trial. Corporation's Say

Mr. Prem Sagar Gupta, Communist leader, at the Delhi Corporation meeting on July 18 stressed the Corporation's right to discuss the future set-up (apart from the Metropoli tan Council) for Delhi; he said it was odd that while the Home Minister's Advisory Council had gone into a detailed discussion of the amendments to the Corporation Act the Corporation itself had not been consulted. He was opposed to the proposed installation of a Mayor in Council at the head of the Corporation; he saw the Mayor's Council as a "cabinet" vested with full executive powers which he felt would lead to constant conflict between the Metropolitan Council and the Corporation. The two, in Mr. Gupta's view, were parallel to one another.

Demanding a discussion of the matter, Mr. Prem Sagar said he wanted to "expose this conspiracy to blackmail the Government"

While the Mayor expressed his willing. ness to permit a discussion, even as he upheld the Avisory Council's constitutional right to discuss the amendments, the leader of the Congress Party, Mr. Brij Mohan, felt that this would serve no purpose. Corporation's views were well known and in any case all political parties had conveyed their feelings to the Government earlier.

Civic "Tug-Of-Water"

The

Paradox of the "full river" and "empty taps" has, among other things, set in motion a rather amusing dispute between the Delhi Corporation and the New Delhi Municipal

Committee.

BENGAL CHEMICAL'S cantharidine

releasing the usual 25 million gallons of water daily to the NDMC areas", people in the new city are waiting anxiously for waterless taps to produce a trickle. It has been this way for quite some time now.

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Connaught Place is experiencing unprecedented water shortage; Bengali Market, a rare complainant, is crying itself hoarse for water. Even Narendra Place, literally a stone's throw from NDMC headquarters, has had dry taps for the past few days.

Understandably, a crisis of sorts is brewing between the two civic bodies. While NDMC, being only a distributing agency depending upon the Corporation for its supply, feels that it is not getting even the 16 to 17 million gallons of water that it requires, the latter says that it does-plus a "bonus" of seven million gallons.

Prickly Proposition

Because there are several common pipelines feeding localities in NDMC and Corporation areas the entire situation is a tricky one. Consider Moti Bagh, for instance. While the part of Moti Bagh beyond Ring Road is Corporation area, the remainder of the colony falls within the purview of NDMC. How much water should be allotted to these two parts of the colony? Who is to make the allotment and on what basis and how can all this be enforced?

The Chief Commissioner is believed to have intervened in the matter. He suggested that costs in surch areas be shared by the two civic bodies according to a certain "fixed" proportion. Even NDMC officials admit that the "Chief Commissioner's award is rather favourable to the NDMC". This, says one of them, has irritated "the Corporation officials". Consequently it (Corporation) was releasing less water into the NDMC mains "as a matter of spite", he concludes. Pavement Pedlars Find New Friends

Delhi's pavement pedlars found vocal champions in election-conscious municipal councillors as the Municipal Corporation met on July 11 after its long summer recess. There were, however, at least two or three

city fathers who rallied to the Administration's help and upheld the eviction of pedlars from pavements.

It was indeed odd that the councillors, who lose no opportunity in blaming the Administration and the Corporation for Delhi's chronic traffic ills, should come out to champion the cause of those who by all accounts are considered the biggest traffic hazard. The presence of hundreds of demonstrating hawkers, outside the Town Hall apparently had much to do with it. And, as one of the councillors charged, the approaching elections and the consequent need for funds was the principal factor in determing party positions.

But Mr. Ram Charan Agarwal, Independent councillor, was equally bent upon exposing these people "who are so adept at shedding crocodile tears". He said he was surprised how anyone with the city's interests at heart could plead on behalf of the squatters. True, many of them had been paying "tehbazari" (tax for occupying roadside space). But did that in any manner imply surrender of the Corporation's right to evict the hawkers? He was heartened by the determination which the new Chief Commis. sioner had shown in ridding the capital's streets of "these ugly obstructions."

The extension of the Bombay Police Act to Delhi (to evict the pedlars) indicated but one thing to the Communist group leader, Mr. Prem Sagar Gupta: bankruptcy of the municipal machinery. Obviously, the Corporation had failed in its job and that was why the Chief Commissioner had been impelled to extend he Bombay Act to Delhi. The agitation by the pedlars, authorized and unauthorized, was the price the city was being made to pay for the Corporation's failure.

Mr. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Jan Sangh leader, Mr. Ram Lal, Mr. Bhagwan Datta Wadhwa, Mr. Makhanlal and several other Congress and Jan Sangh councillors made out a strong case for the pedlars. Mr. Malhotra accused the police of high-handedness and alleged that several authorized, taxpaying pedlars "are languishing in jail". He said the pedlars had been fed on false promises; most of them had been paying

Mr. Abdul Sattar (C) was critical of the municipal administration which had on the one hand encouraged encroachment by authorizing roadside pavement shops and on the other had done nothing to check their growth. After having encouraged and abetted" in their growth it was strange that the civic body should now disown responsibility for their rehabilitation. He cited the example of the squatters of Jama Masjid who had been uprooted after carrying on as authorized vendors for nearly two decades. It was immoral to dislodge these people without suggesting alternatives to them.

Double Standards Charge

The Opposition leader, Mr. V. K. Malhotra, warned the Mayor, Mr. Nur-ud-Din Ahmed on July 18 that efforts were being made on behalf of "two of the biggest blackmarketers in the capital" to have cases against them withdrawn.

Mr. Malhotra told the Mayor at the weekly meeting of Delhi Corporation that the first move in this connexion was made at Sunday's meeting of the Home Minister's Advisory Council. He alleged that cases against the two and some cooperative societies were sought to be withdrawn because certain Delhi Congress leaders, among them MPs, municipal councillors and one of the secretaries of the Pradesh Congress were also involved.

He wanted the Mayor, who is a member of the Advisory Council, to assure the House -"as its representative on the council"that the case would not be withdrawn. The Mayor, in his turn, denied that any such move was afoot.

Mr. Ram Charan Agarwal (Ind), warned against double-standards, one set for traders and another for politicians. He wanted severest action taken against those responsible for the "racket in two of the biggest cooperative societies of the capitai", alleging