Out of 67 project proposals sent for approval to the office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) by government bodies, 41 were not cleared by the screening committee set up by the Election Commission to examine works during the model code of conduct, the CEO’s office said on Tuesday.
The CEO’s office, in a statement, said that government bodies had been clearly instructed that all new projects that require prior permission of the Election Commission must be submitted to the poll panel through the CEO’s office after being cleared by the screening committee, with a separate note stating the urgency of the proposal as to why it can not wait till the elections are over.
The screening committee comprises the Chief Secretary, the Secretary of the General Administration Department, and the Secretary of the respective department for which approval has been sought. The instructions were circulated to all departments on March 12 and all senior officials had been informed, it said.
Desilting work
The CEO’s office was responding to a media report regarding delay in desilting work to be undertaken by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation allegedly because of not having received permission from the EC. The CEO’s office said that the SDMC’s proposal was received on March 20 but sent back with instructions to send it through the screening committee. It added that the proposal with the screening committee’s approval had not been received as of yet.
A spokesperson for the SDMC said that it would be writing to the screening committee within the next two to three days, but desilting work of the smaller drains through departmental means had begun.