Following amendments, Dikshit to now chair NDMC meetings

From March, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit will be chairing the meetings of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).

From March, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit will be chairing the meetings of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).

HT Image

This comes following amendments to the NDMC Act 1994. Till now, the NDMC chairman used to head these meetings.

The amendment states that the chief minister will chair the council meetings if his/her constituency lies within the NDMC area. As Dikshit’s constituency New Delhi falls under the NDMC’s jurisdiction, she will now head the monthly council meetings. Being an elected member of the area, Dikshit is by default a member of the council.

But before the amendment, Dikshit had not been a part of the proceedings of council meetings.

The amendments first proposed by the home ministry in 2010 also include the removal of perks for the elected members which at present are two - Karan Singh Tanwar and

Sheila Dikshit herself. These perks include office space, residential accommodation, a car with chauffeur, and monthly refreshment allowances.

They are being withdrawn because these members draw salaries from the assembly and, therefore, are not entitled to NDMC allowances as they then become ‘offices of profit’.

The council is supposed to have 11 members, among whom are three elected MLAs representing constituencies in the New Delhi area. Also, two of them are nominated or non-official members who are professionals.

In the last assembly elections, delimitation had reduced the number of assembly seats in the New Delhi area from three to two. As a result, the council’s strength has come down to 10 members.