President gives nod to reunification of Delhi municipal corporations
The President of India has approved the bill that seeks to reunify the three municipal corporations of Delhi. With the passage of the three existing civic bodies, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), will now be re-unified.
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This means that the number of wards could be reduced to 250 from 272. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on March 30.
The unified body could be dubbed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and all the liabilities, employees, revenue sources of the SDMC, EDMC and NDMC will soon be transferred to the MCD.
The reasons for reunification as put forth by the Centre included “increasing financial difficulties of the three Municipal Corporations in Delhi” due to the trifurcation. These financial constraints had reportedly left the MCDs “incapacitated to make timely payment of salaries and retirement benefits to their employees”.
The MCD reunification bill sought to:
1. Unify the three municipal corporations into a single, integrated and well-equipped entity
2. Ensure a robust mechanism for optimal utilisation of resources
3. Bring greater transparency, improved governance and
4. Efficient delivery of civic service
Now that the MCD bill has received the President's nod, the delimitation process is expected to begin shortly. Once the official notification is issued regarding the completion of the delimitation process, the 2022 MCD election will be scheduled.
The Delhi State Election Commission deferred the announcement of the election schedule for the civic bodies after it received a communication from Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, saying the Centre plans to bring a Bill in the Budget session of Parliament to unify the three municipal corporations of Delhi.
