The Delhi government is treating municipal corporations in the national capital with “honest motherhood” due to which they are fighting with insufficient resources to fulfill their responsibilities, Home Minister Amit Shah said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. To remove the bill proposing to reunite the three municipal corporations for consideration and passage, Shah suggested that the MCD was hastily tripled for political reasons, leading to an imbalance between the income and liability of civic bodies. As the country’s capital, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Central Secretariat, among other important offices are located in Delhi and it is very important to conduct civic services here, he said, urging the House to consider the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill. 2022 rises above party politics.
The Aam Aadmi Party-government in Delhi has criticized the Centre’s move to bring the bill a month before the three municipal corporation elections, claiming it was an attempt by the BJP to delay the polls for fear of defeat. The Delhi Municipal Corporation was split in 2011 by the then Delhi government under the leadership of Sheila Dikshit to provide better services to create a compact municipality. “I have tried to find a third reason, scrutinized the files but found nothing,” said Shah, adding that when there was no reason, it could be politically motivated.
Analyzes from 2012 to 2022 have led this government to conclude that corporations need to be merged, Shah said. Claiming that the corporations were divided “hastily”, the Home Minister said that the three companies were following different policies, there was no coordination among the workers and there was dissatisfaction among them due to this inconsistency.
“When assets and liabilities were divided into three, it was not done without much thought. One corporation would have a surplus and the other two would have less income and more liability,” he said. Because of this, problems arise and elected members face many problems, Shah said.
“I want to say with responsibility … the Delhi government is working with honest motherly attitude towards the municipal corporations. Honest motherly behavior is being done due to which the municipal corporations are not being equipped with adequate resources to carry out their responsibilities,” Shah said. Even from a strategic and collaborative point of view, it would be appropriate to have only one municipal corporation to take care of Delhi’s civic services, he stressed.
Shah noted that the bill also includes amendments to ensure that the corporation is run with transparency and efficiency and that it limits the number of councilors to 250. “I urge you to consider this bill above party politics,” he urged. Members of the House.
The bill was introduced by Union Home Minister Nityananda Rai on Friday. The BJP has been ruling Delhi’s municipal corporations for the last 15 years and the AAP is seeing an opportunity to oust it from power and consolidate its hold on the national capital.
The bill seeks to unify the three municipal corporations into a single, integrated and well-organized entity; Ensuring a robust process for integrated and strategic planning and optimal use of resources; And brings greater transparency, improved governance and a more efficient delivery of civic services to the people of Delhi. At present, the three Delhi corporations – North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporation – have a total of 272 seats. The North and South Corporations have 104 seats each, while the Eastern Corporation has 64 seats.
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