Capital gain: Sheila gets civic body, wants more

The Delhi government is set to take control of the cash-rich Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). It signals a “personal victory” for Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and a positive step in her battle to get full statehood for the capital, said a source.

But that won’t be easy for the CM. The capital has an over-lapping administrative setup, where the city government, municipal bodies, central government and autonomous bodies compete with each other. The result, often, is much confusion resulting in a blame-game between these agencies in case of mishap.

Delhi has a state government headed by Dikshit but it doesn’t control the police, civic bodies, Delhi metro and most matters relating to land. With the transfer of MCD, the state government will get to dictate civic matters of nearly 96% of the city. Still, several matters would be beyond its control.

Under the current set-up, six of the capital’s 12 key agencies fall under various Central ministries. The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and the Delhi police fall under the union home ministry while the Delhi Development Authority falls under the urban development ministry. The central pollution control board (CPCB) and the environment protection authority for NCR are controlled by the environment ministry.

No wonder the proposal to bring MCD under Delhi government has been criticised by Dikshit’s critics.“Had she pressed for full statehood we would have supported her but selectively demanding MCD is absurd. The government isn’t fully empowered, how will it do justice to the civic body?” said Vijay Kumar Malhotra, BJP’s leader of opposition in Delhi Assembly.

However, as a government official explained, “If the CM manages to get MCD, she could pave the way for getting Delhi full statehood.” The government thinks the plethora of independent agencies in Delhi is “frustrating”. With the Commonwealth Games just a year away, Dikshit is expected to aggressively pursue with the Centre her demand for control over some agencies. However, it may be sometime before even the MHA’s proposal of bringing MCD under the Delhi government takes shape.

“Any decision to bring the MCD under the government can’t be taken through a letter of intimation. An amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1958 is mandatory.
The MHA is acting on the whims of the CM,” said former mayor Arti Mehra.

Dikshit, on her part, tried to allay the fears of MCD members, “This is not a move to infringe upon the rights of a democratically-elected body,” she said. But the opposition is not pleased. “The Centre is acting against the spirit of the 73rd and 74th Amendment which is meant to facilitate the decentralisation of power to local bodies,” said BJP councillor Vijender Gupta.