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Divided we fall

Stakeholders point to the trifurcation of the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) being the root of all crises that plagues the entire system today, financial and administrative alike

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In April 2012, New Delhi got trifurcated for better jurisdiction. Namely, North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC). There is also New Delhi Municipal Corporation, which is under the state government while the other three are under the local municipal corporation. However, with better jurisdiction came a whole lot of niggling issues because the smaller municipalities had their own individual problems. The latest 'talk-of-the-town' is the budgets that the municipalities have presented. Residents are miffed because the budgets of the four are starkly different, which means different promises too.

The already cash-strapped corporations', North and East Delhi Municipal Corporation, budget show that much of their revenue comes from external sources like grants and loans, while South Municipal Corporation appears self-sufficient as it is home to properties which come in the top category of property tax rates — these include hotels and malls.

The difference in the budget can be experienced when compared to that of New Delhi Municipal Council. The Council, which maintains 40 square kilometres of the national capital's Lutyen's Delhi area, has been presenting a surplus budget for over four years and now has been planning to offer pensions if the trend continues.

However, this difference of budget allocation further affects the services offered to the residents of these MCDs. While the NDMC has continuously been aiming for the smart city and has been regarded as Asia's richest civic body, the cash-deprived Municipal Corporation barely manages to provide basic facilities and somehow manages to pay salaries to its employees. A recent example for that has been the continuous strikes by sanitation workers in East and North MCDs.

When contacted, senior officials said that the prime cause for this came out to be the trifurcation of MCD in 2012. The process to divide the corporation was started by the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government, which was supported by the central government, also headed by Congress-led UPA government.

Ever since the trifurcation, the budget has been soaring high from every corporation. For instance, this year's estimated expenditure by all MCD's reached to over Rs 18,800 crore, which is almost triple of the Rs 6,200 crore which a unified MCD has spent in 2011-12 to deliver same services.

At present, while the South Municipal Corporation is financially viable, the other two have been struggling to pay salaries to their employees. However, the proposal for the unification of these corporations has seen roadblocks on multiple occasions.

City's geography

The North Corporation's 2019-20 budget alone is Rs 8,832 crore, while the East Corporation's expenditure for the year is Rs 4,616 crore. The South Corporation's, this year's, budget was around Rs 5,437 crore.

“North Corporation's budget alone has surpassed what used to be the entire MCD's budget. Even if we calculate the increase in cost over five years, it might become twice the total budget but certainly would not go beyond that. We were left with debts, which are still being paid,” said a senior official requesting anonymity.

The corporation's health expenditure alone is around Rs 858 crore, which is additional to the total budget. The corporation has six of the city's major hospitals, such as Hindu Rao Hospital, under it.

The trifurcation, he said, led to an unequal division of revenue sources. “While the South got all the Type A and B properties for which the property taxes are much higher, the North and East Corporations got left with mid-level and lower property rates. The condition is such that the staff doesn't get their salaries for two months at a stretch,” he added.

The civic bodies get grants to run the basic functioning, such as paying the staff from the Delhi government. But, on occasions, the MCDs blame the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of not releasing the grants to the corporations, which triggered the strikes.

Confusion galore

Besides, financial viability, officials claimed that trifurcation has made policymaking difficult for the civic body. There is confusion among people who end up paying more at certain places, as the three corporations have different rules for services such as parking, advertising, and taxes, among others.

This difference in rules and rates has made it difficult for the residents to track their rights. For instance, a parking slot in East Delhi might cost between Rs 15-20. However, when in Southern Delhi, the charges might go up to Rs 30. While South earns a good chunk off its revenues from the advertisement as it homes prime locations with heavy footfall, the other MCDs have to charge less for the same space.

Political tug of war

Senior leaders and sitting councillors too agree.

Subhash Arya, former mayor and Standing Committee member, “Trifurcation has made the administration more complicated. Also, it has increased multiplicity of the authority, thereby reducing the powers of the civic body. There must be a motion again for unifying the three bodies in order to offer better amenities to the city.”

Arya, who has been in the corporation for about 25 years, further said, “At the time when the Sheila Dikshit government had decided to trifurcate the MCD to reduce its powers, we were in power in the civic body. We had also approved a resolution against it. We were not against the division but against the financial distribution of the three. Also, we had asked them to help pay off the debts before trifurcation. Despite that, the MCD was trifurcated as it is.”

In 2015, the North Corporation had moved a proposal for unifying the civic bodies, but it could not be ratified by the Congress in Opposition.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders still maintain that trifurcation was in favour of Delhi.

A Congress leader, who wished to be unnamed, said, “The decision was taken rightly, as it had become humanly impossible for one mayor to manage the entire city. It was done after many consultations. The cash crunch is because, under the BJP, the two corporations did not take any steps to increase their revenue.”

Report card

The reason declared for the trifurcation of MCD was that the corporation was failing to be efficient and it was very difficult for a mayor to maintain the big landscape. So, the trifurcation was aimed to divide the land chunk into small parts and decentralise the power and authority.

Speaking to DNA, a senior official in MCD's headquarters said, “There were days that the mayor of the MCD could directly take on the chief minister, but ever since the divide, the posts have lost the power and authority, which reflects on the work.”

Moreover, the divide has led to increased workforce on the same amount of work. Now, the MCD has three mayors, three commissioners and the triple staff than what used be in an undivided MCD. This has increased the budget allocation towards the salaries and benefits quota majorly.

MCDs vs NDMC

While speaking of the national capital, a new person in the city would imagine shining and smooth roads, green parks, high tech facilities and a smarter experience to life.

New Delhi completes every dream of a shining Capital, however, areas under corporations are still to reach that place.

While the areas have been still trying to allocate proper budget for basic facilities in their area, the NDMC has been constantly allocating a good amount to develop the NDMC area as a smart city.
For this purpose, the council has already achieved installation of water ATMs, smart electricity meters and is about to install smart poles with panic buttons to help someone in distress.

BS Vohra, President, East Delhi RWA, Joint Front Federation

We had opposed the decision to trifurcate during those days, but the Congress-led government had actually taken the basis of democracy and forced a politically-driven decision on residents. The decision, since then, has adversely affected us. Especially in East Delhi, the residents are forced to live amid garbage when the sanitation workers announce a strike.

Atul Goyal, President, United RWAs Joint Action (URJA), an umbrella body of 2,500 RWAs

This kind of mess is undesired. First of all, the trifurcation was the worst move that has affected the residents of Delhi but has been beneficial for the politicians. The corporation has been providing the same services now but after paying triple the expense, as there are now offices and triple the staff for the same purpose.

SK Mittal, President, RWA, South Extension II

Although the budget is the problem, the real issue is with the absence of will and vision to work. The corporations, be it South, East or North, have failed to manage the work and also to bring down the expenses. However, unification of the MCD will certainly help corporations but then also it is the effective way to manage the corporation that must be brought back.

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