Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 passed in RS

[GS Paper 2 – Separation of Power, Local Self-Governance]

The Rajya Sabha recently passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which is aimed at unifying the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi to ensure a robust setup for synergised and strategic planning and optimal utilization of resources.

Stated Objectives behind Unification:

• Trifurcated MCDs faced multiple problems over the years, such as non-payment of salaries of safai karamcharis (sweepers), uneven distribution of property tax between three civic bodies, inefficient management and growing losses, etc.
• The trifurcation was uneven in terms of the territorial divisions and revenue-generating potential of each corporation. As a result, there was a huge gap in the resources available to the three corporations, vis-a-vis their obligations.
• The gap has widened over a period of time, increasing the financial difficulties of the three municipal corporations, leaving them incapacitated to make timely payment of salaries and retirement benefits to their employees and thereby creating serious impediments in maintaining civic services in Delhi.

Provisions of the Bill

1. The Bill seeks to amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 passed by Parliament. The Act was amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi. It replaces the three municipal corporations under the Act with one Corporation named the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
2. The Bill curtails certain powers of the Delhi Government and empowers the Central Government to decide on these matters. The matters include: (i) total number of seats of councilors and number of seats reserved for members of the Scheduled Castes, (ii) division of the area of corporations into zones and wards, (iii) delimitation of wards, (iv) matters such as salary and allowances, and leave of absence of the Commissioner etc.
3. The Bill states that the total number of seats in the new Corporation should not be more than 250. It omits the provision for a Director of Local Bodies. 
4. The Bill provides that the central government may appoint a Special Officer to exercise powers of the Corporation until the first meeting of the Corporation is held after the commencement of the Bill.  
5. The Bill adds that obligatory functions of the new Corporation will include establishing an e-governance system for citizen services on an anytime-anywhere basis for better, accountable, and transparent administration. 

What is a Municipal Corporation?

Municipal corporations are created for the administration of big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and others. They are established in the states by the acts of the concerned state legislatures, and in the union territories by the acts of the Parliament of India.

There may be one common act for all the municipal corporations in a state or a separate act for each municipal corporation.

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