The Hindu : New Delhi News : Govt. buying time for MCD break-up?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 15, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Govt. buying time for MCD break-up?

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI, DEC. 14. Did the Delhi Cabinet really refer the much talked about proposal for break-up of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi into several small units to the State Law Department or did it once again succumb to political pressure and decided not to go ahead with the move? This is the question being debated in political circles here, and indications are that the "Law Department reference" was only a plank to buy time and test the waters before taking the final plunge on a matter that has become a bone of contention between the Congress-led Delhi Government and the Congress-ruled MCD.

Officials in the Delhi Government point out that there is more than a legal angle to the whole issue. The Transaction of Business Rules clearly state that no note would be put up before the Cabinet for discussion till it was approved by the Finance and the Law Departments. The very fact that the Cabinet discussed the whole issue for the third time in a row in the past few months makes it clear that the note had in fact the "approval" of the Law Department but was "deferred" due to political considerations.

It is a well-known fact that the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president, Ram Babu Sharma, is opposed to any split of the MCD and his supporters in the civic body had raised a ruckus when the matter come up for discussion last time. This time round too the Cabinet took up the matter and even held discussions, but then decided to wait for a green signal from the party high command before committing itself to such a big step

Political observers feel that instead of succumbing to pressure from the Congress Councillors and other party leaders with regard to the break-up of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Sheila Dikshit Government should go full steam ahead and fulfil the promise made to the electorate during the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls to carry out the process of decentralisation of the corruption-ridden Corporation. The party's manifesto, released by senior AICC leaders along with the Chief Minister, had made this promise. The entire issue had the consent of the party high command and there should not be any problem in getting a nod for such a cause at this juncture.

The Corporation had earned a very bad reputation during the last few years and corruption had come to be identified with it in its day to day working despite efforts by the present Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta, to set the situation right.

Interestingly, the matter came up for discussion before the Delhi Cabinet on Monday but was "deferred" on the pretext of "obtaining views" of the Law Department. It is not for the first time that the Delhi Cabinet has deferred a decision on the break-up of MCD. Such a situation had arisen in May this year also but the Cabinet failed to pass the agenda following sharp protests from the Congress Councillors. This time round also the Cabinet deferred the issue once again by stating that Law Department needed to study the legal aspects of the whole issue before it is sent to the Central Government for its formal approval.

Insiders also point out that the Cabinet was in favour of an overhaul of the entire system rather than adopting an ad hoc approach on the issue. There is an opinion within the Delhi Government that instead of splitting the MCD into three parts, it should go in for major reforms by breaking the whole Corporation into six or seven parts even if it requires a Constitutional amendment.

It is felt that with a Congress-led Government ruling at the Centre, it would not be difficult to get through such a situation and it would be in tune with the party's plank of providing good governance by undertaking the process of decentralisation.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News Update

Stories in this Section