New Delhi, May 12 (IANS): The fate of bulldozer politics in the national capital will hang in balance once the three municipal corporations cease to exist from next week.
Since the elections to the three municipal corporations of Delhi have been postponed due to the unification of the three civic bodies into one, the term of the existing civic bodies will expire next week.
Once the role of elected representatives comes to an end in the three municipal corporations, which rolled out bulldozers across the city to remove illegal encroachments on the insistence of Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta since last month, the decision to roll out bulldozers to remove the encroachments will depend on the ‘special officers' to be appointed by the Central government.
According to the newly-amended DMC Act 2022, the affairs of municipal corporation will be looked after by a senior bureaucrat to be appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs as a ‘special officer'.
There is apprehension in the BJP camp whether these bulldozers will function in the same pace against illegal constructions under the special officer.
As of now, the BJP is ruling the three civic bodies and it used its influence in decision making to roll out bulldozers to remove illegal constructions in the national capital.
A BJP leader said that all the three Mayors are in a hurry to outsmart each other to secure their political careers ahead of the civic polls.
"The future of rolling out bulldozers hangs in balance as the special officer will not act as the present Mayors. While we cannot say that the special officer will not act against illegal encroachments, it is also true that he or she will not act like a politician and roll out bulldozers for political benefits," a BJP municipal councillor said.
After the recent communal violence in Jahangirpuri, the BJP ruled municipal corporations suddenly became active to remove illegal encroachments across the city.
After the April 16 incident in Jahangirpuri, Adesh Gupta, accusing Bangladeshi and Rohingyas for the violent clashes, asked the North Delhi Mayor to remove illegal encroachments in the area. Later he also asked the other two Mayors to remove illegal encroachments.