Delhi: MCDs prep for merger, discuss staff rejig ahead of Prez nod

The central establishment department held a meeting of the representatives of 36 departments from the three local bodies on Tuesday, and the next meeting is scheduled next week, an official said

Hectic activity is on at the Civic Centre, the headquarters of the municipal corporations in Delhi, ever since the Parliament passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill 2022, paving the way for unification of the three civic bodies in Delhi and redrawing of the boundaries of the municipal wards.

The Civic Centre, the headquarters of the municipal corporations in Delhi. (HT Archive)

Senior officials confirmed that regular meetings were being held and estimates of staff and finances are being finalised which would have to be submitted to the Centre that would reorganise the bureaucracy giving a final shape to a unified corporation.

“Data regarding the existing posts, vacancies and the pre-trifurcation strengths of each department has been sought. We have also asked each department to submit details regarding their projected staff strength for carrying out their functions. A large number of posts will have to be surrendered with the merger,” an official aware of the proceedings said. According to the preliminary estimates, around 700 posts will be reduced after the merger.

The MCD was trifurcated by the Congress government in Delhi in 2012. All three corporations were ruled by the BJP for the last 15 years and plagued by financial crises.According to the BIll, till a new unified MCD is organised and meets for the first time, the affairs of the civic body will be run by a special officer to be appointed by the Centre.

“It will start from head of the departments and go up to the committee support workers. Right now, there are three sets of each committee and departments heads and deputies with their support staff, data entry operators and other personnel,” the official explained.

Union home minister Amit Shah, while introducing the Bill in the two house of Parliament, said that the merger of staff of the three civic bodies alone is likely to save ₹150 crore each year.

The central establishment department held a meeting of the representatives of 36 departments from the three local bodies on Tuesday, and the next meeting is scheduled next week, a second senior official said.

The central establishment department, which is coordinating this work, normally works as cadre controlling authority of all employees of Category A posts and various centralised posts of Category B, C and D of general wings of municipal corporations of Delhi.

The department is tasked with recruitments, career progression scheme, maintenance of annual confidential reports and property tax returns of the officersas well as framing of recruitment regulations. As per the existing directions of Director of Local Bodies, at present, North DMC is the lead corporation for filling up vacancies of Group A officers of all the three Corporation.

A senior north MCD official participating in the process stated that after data is collected, pre-2012 seniority lists of each department will be made based on which the heads of departments of the unified body will be decided. “Based on the preliminary data collected in the last meeting, there are currently 119,205 regular employees with the three corporations, but a large number of retirements have been observed over the last three months. North MCD has 50,654 regular employees in six zones, SDMC has 40,151 under four zones and EDMC has 28,400 employees in two zones. In the last meeting, we had estimated that around 700 posts will be reduced and readjusted. Instead of three offices of mayors, standing committee chairpersons, municipal secretariat, etc we will need one department each,” the official said.

Around 108 senior officers are working on deputation from various other departments in three corporations, he added giving details of staff.