Expressing doubts about the delimitation exercise of municipal wards in the city, which is currently underway, senior Congress leader Chattar Singh on Wednesday said no elected representative has been made part of the exercise, which is mandatory under the Delimitation Act (2002).
Mr. Singh said under Section 5 of the Act, the delimitation commission is required to work with ‘associate members’ or elected representatives, such as the MPs, MLAs and councillors (since the reunification of the MCD in May this year civic polls haven’t been conducted, so Delhi does not have any councillors at the moment).
The Congress leader added that according to an order issued for the previous delimitation exercise held in the Capital in 2015, the State Election Commission was directed to adopt the procedure prescribed under the Delimitation Act (2002).
“If the Act requires the inclusion of public representatives in the delimitation exercise, why is the procedure not being followed? This omission is all the more surprising given that public representatives were part of the last delimitation exercise that was held in Delhi,” said Mr. Singh.
No need for ‘associates’
However, an official at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the delimitation exercise was not being carried out as per the 2002 Act, but according to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957.
The official added that according to the 1957 Act, which was amended in April this year before the three erstwhile civic bodies were merged into one MCD, the “Centre can decide” how to form a delimitation committee.
On July 25, The Hindu reported that the number of civic wards to be carved out in the city was fixed at 250 by the three-memeber committee constituted by the Centre on July 8.
