MCDS in limbo till merger rules laid out: Officials

NEW DELHI: The operations of Delhi’s three civic bodies were unchanged on Tuesday, after President Ram Nath Kovind’s assent and the Centre’s notification of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Amendment Act, 2022 (which paves the way for the unification of the three civic bodies municipal corporations), with senior functionaries clarifying that the Union home ministry will issue a separate notification that will set a date for the eventual merger.

However, there was widespread confusion within the corporations, with employees speculating if the three bodies had fused, and a new, unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi had taken shape. Several municipal employees even shared celebratory messages with each other, in the hope that endless salary delays would be a thing of the past. However, several senior municipal functionaries clarified that the three corporations have not yet ceased to exist individually, and that the unification hinges on directions from the Centre.

“Unification has not taken place so far. The Act will immediately halt the municipal election process, which was still legally alive. This notification puts a stop to the possibility of polls, since the state election commission will need at least one month to carry out election process for a new corporation. We await further orders from the Centre,” the official said.

Constitutional expert and former secretary to the Lok Sabha and Delhi assembly SK Sharma said the constitutional process demands that another notification be issued for the Act to be implemented, adding that the corporations will need more time to implement the minutiae of the process, such as assets, staff, areas and liabilities. “It is expected to be a long-drawn process, keeping the scale of local bodies in mind,” he added.

The terms of the current batch of the elected councillors of the South, North and East Delhi municipal corporations will lapse on May 18, May 19 and May 22 respectively. A senior North Delhi Municipal Corporation official said the existing municipal functionaries will complete their remaining tenures, but can only carry out routine, daily functions over this period. “They can perform dayto-day functions such as handing out salaries, issuing orders related to garbage and other usual functions,” he said.