By IANS,
New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is yet to start functioning from its new offices in the swanky 28-storey high-rise in the heart of the capital, seven months after it was inaugurated.
The MCD was to start shifting Thursday from the 142-year-old heritage Town Hall building in the congested old quarter of Delhi to the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee civic centre on the Vivekanand Marg, formerly Minto Road. But till now none of its offices have moved.
“The process of shifting the municipal office, which has about 3,000 staff with 20 departments, is complex and difficult,” Jagdish Mamgain, chairman of the working committee, told IANS.
“The shifting process will be held in two phases. By the end of this month all 20 departments will be shifted to the new venue. But offices of the mayor, standing committee chairman, leader of the house and leader of opposition will continue to function from Town Hall and will be shifted by Dec 8,” he said.
He also said until the shifting process is over, there might be slight inconvenience to the public as they will not know where to approach officials.
“We are giving more importance to the documents and files that are to be shifted and it will be a slow process,” he added.
The new building was inaugurated by union Home Minister P. Chidambaram April 22. The new Civic Centre was built at a cost of Rs.650 crore and, at 112 metres, it is taller than the historic, 13th century Qutab Minar, which stands at 72.5 metres.
The new civic centre is spread over 12 acres and is expected to witness more than 20,000 footfalls a day. The complex has eight escalators, a 1,000-seat auditorium, an art gallery and a restaurant.