Setting the cat among the pigeons even as speculation over postponement of civic polls remains rife in the Capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday tweeted the possibility of Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Khoda Patel taking charge as Delhi’s next Lieutenant-Governor.
“Is Mr Praful Patel, Administrator of Lakshdweep, being made the next LG of Delhi?” Mr. Kejriwal tweeted.
Whispers related to the development have been doing the rounds in BJP circles for months, according to insiders, who describe Mr. Patel as a “hands-on, tough and efficient” administrator.
Having served as Gujarat’s former Home Minister, under the Narendra Modi-led State government, Mr. Patel took charge as Lakshadweep Administrator in December 2020. His appointment has been mired in controversies due to certain proposals, including introduction of Anti-Goonda Act and a ban on beef, in the Muslim-dominated Union Territory.
Apart from facing protests from the public, Mr. Patel has also faced opposition from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“What Delhi deserves and needs is development, not freebies. Mr. Patel is the person who can deliver on that,” said a senior BJP leader.
“Though the final decision on Mr. Patel’s or any other person’s appointment is the prerogative of the Centre, his name has certainly been doing the rounds in Delhi for several months now. Whether he comes as L-G or an administrator in-charge of the unified MCD remains to be seen,” the leader added.
The Central government’s proposal to reunify the three municipal corporations — South, North and East — in Delhi was cited by the State Election Commission as the reason for deferring the announcement of dates for civic elections in the Capital.
‘Parallel Delhi model’
According to another BJP source, whoever leads the unified municipal corporation would have his/her task cut out: broadly, the creation of a parallel and “more efficient Delhi model” to take on the AAP government.
Special emphasis, the source said, would be laid on sprucing up municipal dispensaries and schools so that these could be pitted directly against the AAP’s “claims related to the city’s health and education sectors”.
“For instance, the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, which the Delhi government has not allowed to be implemented, will be put in place at MCD hospitals. The schools under the civic body will be completely resurrected,” the source said.
“We intend to most certainly overhaul municipal dispensaries which, we are certain, will overtake the AAP’s supposed mohalla clinics that have been set up across the city as kiosks handing out basic medicines available at the local chemist,” the source said.
The possibility of reunification of the municipal corporations is being pitched by the BJP as a solution to the financial crunch — which has resulted in strikes, delayed salary payments and snail-paced development of projects — being faced by the three bodies.
However, civic officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have expressed doubts over the move serving as a solution. A senior official at the South corporation said the total expenditure that will be saved, across the three bodies, will “not be more than ₹50 crore” — citing that the number of senior-level posts would be trimmed down following the unification exercise.
‘Unification no solution’
“These savings will not amount to a solution. Our [SDMC] annual expenditure is close to ₹4,000 crore; the fifth Delhi Finance Commission made a recommendation of ₹2,400 crore per annum to SDMC but the city government reduced it and is giving close to ₹800 crore. We have a shortfall of ₹1,000 crore, the North corporation has a shortfall of over ₹8,000 crore, followed by the East with close to ₹2,000 crore. Even if there is unification, how will you generate this amount?” asked the senior official.
Another SDMC official termed the move “purely political” and said employees will suffer due to the merger. At least a dozen strikes have been held by the civic bodies’ employees — teachers, contractual workers and doctors — in the last few months over the issues of non-payment of salaries and arrears. Leaders of the BJP-led corporations have cited the pending allocation of funds from the Delhi government as the reason for the fund crunch.
South corporation’s Standing Committee Chairman B.K. Oberoi (BJP) said the unification will not affect administrative reforms but it will help reduce additional posts. “Senior officials are worried that the number of posts will come down and they will be deputed elsewhere. There will be more clarity in the next two to four days,” he said.
Former north Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash shared a similar view, adding that the unification will strengthen the civic body.
A.P. Khan, convener of the Confederation of Municipal Corporation of Delhi Employees Union, said a possible unification would make sense only if it resolves the fund crunch and prevents recurring delays in payment of salaries. He added, “There should be clarity over the shortfall, while the pending dues to employees should be cleared. There is no point in unification if it results in another political blame game. It should be a clear-cut solution.”
“Unification is not a good move for administrative reforms. What happened after the trifurcation was that distribution of funds to each corporation was uneven. However, the split also ensured that the North, South and East bodies each had a dedicated Mayor and senior officials, which helped in coordinating within their jurisdiction. If the unification happens, it will take at least four to five months for the setting up a unified civic body,” an East corporation official said.
The erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi was trifurcated in 2012; the process had begun in 2011 in coordination with the Congress at the Centre and the then Delhi government led by Sheila Dikshit.
With the BJP remaining in power at the civic-level since 2007, sources said the trifurcation was aimed at curbing their powers – through an amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. “The Dikshit government’s move was political, and it further diluted the presence of prominent posts such as that of the Mayor. With three corporations, came three mayoral posts and other senior posts also increased,” said a source at North Corporation.
