Delhi’s three civic bodies unified after a decade: What it means
- The unification has also reduced the number of city wards - from 272 to 250 - which means the MCD will have to undergo a delimitation exercise before the election, news agency PTI said.
The decade-old trifurcation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi - to decentralise urban local governance in the national capital - came to an end Sunday with a unified MCD formally taking charge. Ashwini Kumar, a 1992 batch IAS officer, and Gyanesh Bharti, a 1998 batch officer, took charge as special officer appointed by the central government and the MCD Commissioner.
Kumar will be the top authority handling the civic affairs till a new House is elected.
The merging of three civic bodies - the North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations - was accompanied by a political slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party that is in power at the centre and the Aam Aadmi Party that holds the government in Delhi. The AAP called the entire process a 'tactic to delay elections' for all three civic bodies.
Delimitation, reshuffling ahead
With a unified MCD now in place - and a special officer and new commissioner in charge - the reshuffling and reorganisation of municipal staff is also likely to begin.
Civic authorities had earlier said post-unification nearly 700 employees would be 'surplus' and noted that it would be a challenge to accommodate all. "Those working on deputation will be repatriated to their parent departments to accommodate employees in the unified MCD," an official told PTI.
The unification has also reduced the number of city wards - from 272 to 250 - which means the MCD will have to undergo a delimitation exercise before the election, news agency PTI said.
The centre will form a delimitation commission to carry out the demarcation of wards.
Trifurcation of MCD
The MCD was trifurcated in 2012 during the late Congress leader Sheila Dikshit's tenure as chief minister. A bill to unify the three bodies was approved by the Lok Sabha on March 30 and by the Rajya Sabha on April 5.
The bill became an Act after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent on April 18.
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