In a significant development, the Centre has proposed to bring the Municipal Corporating of Delhi (MCD) under the Delhi government, which has been a long—pending demand of the ruling Congress in the national capital.
“In principle, a decision has been taken to bring the MCD under the Delhi government. A final decision on the proposal will be taken after taking into confidence all the stakeholders,” a Home Ministry spokesperson said.
A top Delhi government official, meanwhile, said it has received a communication from the Centre proposing to bring the MCD under its direct control.
The MCD came into existence on April 7, 1958 under an Act of Parliament. It is one of three civic bodies in Delhi and caters to 96 per cent of the total area of the city.
Recently, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had repeatedly accused the MCD of “inefficiency” and demanded that it be brought under the control of her government. The leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in MCD has been opposing the demand.
When contacted, BJP state Chief O P Kohli criticised the move as “unfortunate and politically motivated” and said the Centre cannot take such a step without amendment in the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act. “Why Dikshit does not demand full statehood for Delhi which we have been pushing for since the last 10 years? We feel Delhi should be given full statehood instead of bringing only the MCD under government,” he said.
