The civic body’s law department is examining and reworking “certain provisions” of the DMC Act; those familiar with the development say the process is being executed based on directions received from the Centre
The civic body’s law department is examining and reworking “certain provisions” of the DMC Act; those familiar with the development say the process is being executed based on directions received from the Centre
In a move that is likely to give more teeth to the Lieutenant-Governor as an administrative entity, certain provisions of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, are being changed, which, according to sources familiar with the development, would give Raj Niwas the final say on matters related to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Today News 24 has accessed documents, issued in June this year, highlighting the MCD’s law department’s examination of “certain provisions” in the Act to make them “more effective and implementable”, with the assistance of a private legal policy firm.
The house of MCD is the final authority in terms of passing agenda items. After an agenda item is passed, it is forwarded for implementation to the civic body’s Commissioner.
After the merger of the three erstwhile municipal corporations (North, South and East) in May – through the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 – the Centre appointed a special officer to discharge the functions of the MCD till the first meeting of the unified corporation was held. The meeting, however, has not been conducted as new ward councillors are yet to be elected.
‘No routine reworking’
“This is not a routine reworking of the Act to remove archaic provisions; the entire process has remained discreet and a report on the reworked provisions is being drafted,” a source said, adding that the letter confirming the reworking of the provisions came within a few weeks of the constitution of the unified corporation, and it was “planned beforehand”.
“It is likely that the powers of the corporation would be curtailed and the L-G would have the final say or a larger role on matters that are passed in the house of MCD, more or less like what happens with matters passed by the Delhi Assembly,” another source said.
According to sources, the decision to rework the provisions of the Act was taken based on the “directions received from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)”. When reached for a comment, the MHA did not respond.
Confirming that provisions in the Act are being reworked and that a private firm has been roped in, MCD’s director for press and information, Amit Kumar, said a “lot of change” has happened in the city “since 1957”, when the “municipal laws were enacted”.
However, Mr. Kumar did not provide a response on whether the process was initiated on directions of the MHA, nor did he elaborate on the nature of the change in the provisions. “…To keep pace with the development of Delhi it was required to incorporate best municipal practices across India,” he said.
‘Power with Centre’
A source pointed to Section 14 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, stating that it allows the Centre to make necessary provisions to remove any difficulties in the implementation of the passed amendments through a gazette notification.
“This can be done until a period of two years from the commencement of the amendments and it can be implemented immediately if required and can be placed in Parliament later,” said the source.
MCD’s Chief Law Officer Anil Kumar said the reworking is “only to implement best practices and I cannot disclose anything further”.
