DUSU polls: all eyes on HC today as candidates yet to pay for damage to public property
The Hindu
Candidates refuse to pay for clean-up after DUSU elections, awaiting court verdict; university faces tedious recovery process.
Candidates are yet to pay for the clean-up exercise undertaken by civic agencies to spruce up the public property left defaced during the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections despite a High Court order that had stalled the declaration of results until they clear the mess.
With the court set to hear the case on Monday, a university official said it is a tedious task to make the candidates pay for the clean-up drive.
“The amount is to be recovered from the candidates but they are not ready to pay for the mess that easily,” the official said.
He said a proposal in this regard is required to be passed by the DU Executive Council — the university’s highest-decision making arm — which makes it a long-drawn process. “Delhi University is a government-funded institution and there are certain procedures when it comes to accounts,” he added.
While letting the elections take place on September 27, the High Court had a day earlier disallowed the counting of votes, taking seriousnote of the “muscle and money power” being used in the election process by student leaders.
Earlier this month, it had also disposed of a petition seeking the declaration of results, reiterating that it will permit the counting of votes only after the candidates clean up the public property left defaced with posters, hoardings, and graffiti.
According to university officials, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) have generated bills amounting to ₹5 lakh and ₹1 lakh, respectively.