New Delhi, January 21 (PTI) Alongside steps to ease compliance through a tax amnesty approach and to simplify civic regulations, the New Delhi Municipal Council on Wednesday cleared a wide-ranging set of proposals aimed at strengthening civic services, employee welfare and infrastructure across the capital’s core area.
In a move aimed at reducing regulatory burden in Lutyens Delhi, the Council decided that FSSAI or GST registration would be treated as a deemed licence under relevant provisions of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) Act. While separate health licences will not be mandatory in such cases, NDMC will continue inspections to ensure public health and hygiene standards, it said in a statement.
According to officials, on an average, council issues 350 licenses per year and will bear a loss of about Rs 1.13 crore annual revenue after relinquishing license fees. It will be recovered through a revision of property tax, service charge and license fees.
The meeting was presided over by Delhi Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma and attended by New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj, NDMC Chairperson Keshav Chandra and Council members.
Summing up the decisions, Vice-Chairman Kuljeet Chahal said the measures approved “are designed to ensure sustainable urban development, resilient infrastructure, efficient service delivery and enhanced public convenience”, adding that the NDMC aims to turn New Delhi into a model capital city aligned with the national roadmap for 2047.
Among the key decisions was the extension of the Liberalised Medical Health Scheme to all contractual NDMC employees and their dependents. Chahal said that “perhaps, for the first time in the country’s history”, contractual staff of a government institution would get cashless medical facilities.
He noted that around 878 contractual employees, many of whom have worked with the NDMC for 12 to 25 years, would benefit, along with their families.
The Council also approved enhanced financial assistance for regular SC/ST employees under the Hitkari Nidhi Yojana, raising marriage and death-related assistance to Rs 75,000 from the earlier Rs 50,000.
Several recruitment rules across departments, including medical services, law, electricity and education were approved or revised to streamline staffing.
On the infrastructure front, the Council cleared major projects to upgrade electricity, water supply, sewerage and road networks. These include replacement of ageing 33 kV and 66 kV switchgears, procurement of 50 MW of firm and dispatchable renewable power through the Solar Energy Corporation of India, and laying of high-capacity power cables.
NDMC also approved resurfacing of key arterial roads across multiple divisions using hot-mix and cold-mix technologies, based on evaluations by CSIR – Central Road Research Institute, the statement read.
The Council stated that water and sanitation projects included construction of a new water supply control room, replacement of decades-old pipelines at Pandara Road, installation of automatic misting systems on several pollution-prone roads, and provision of smart water meters. Long-pending sewer rehabilitation works involving over 80 years old infrastructure were also approved to prevent collapses and service disruptions.
Cleanliness initiatives under the Swachh Bharat Mission included extensions and fresh tenders for operation and maintenance of public toilets, garbage stations and housekeeping services in NDMC buildings. PTI VBH PRK PRK
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