Cabinet okays MCD shift

The Capital's largest civic body, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)— which controls 97 per cent of Delhi—seems all set to come under Delhi government, reports HT Correspondent.

The Capital's largest civic body, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)— which controls 97 per cent of Delhi—seems all set to come under Delhi government.

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A late night cabinet meeting that was held at Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit's residence on Tuesday gave its approval to the Centre's proposal to delegate wide-ranging powers to Delhi government.

"The cabinet discussed the Centre's proposal and has decided to accept it," said a senior official.

MCD, with a budget of Rs 6,000 crore, is the world’s second-largest civic body, after Tokyo.

After the Cabinet's approval, the proposal will now be forwarded to the Union Home Ministry, for a final call.

According to the Centre's proposal, once MCD comes under Delhi government's control, the latter would get a wide-ranging power over the civic body. The most important of these would be the Delhi government's power to form and dissolve the MCD. Presently, this power is vested with Delhi‘s Lieutenant Governor.

Besides, Delhi government would also have the power to appoint the municipal commissioner, fix his salary, make byelaws, clear projects, delimit wards, among others.

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently sent a note to Delhi government over the issue of taking control of MCD. Within a day of Delhi government receiving a note on MCD takeover from Union Home Ministry, the government formed a three-member committee headed by chief secretary Rakesh Mehta to study the Centre's proposal.