Will challenge Bill for merger of Delhi civic bodies in court if needed: Kejriwal

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said they will study the bill introduced in Parliament to unify the three municipal corporations and, if needed, challenge it in court.

He was speaking at a press conference after his deputy Manish Sisodia presented the Delhi Budget.

The bill to merge the three municipal corporations in the national capital into a single entity was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday by the central government amid Opposition claims that the move was beyond the legislative competence of Parliament.

It also proposes to reduce the number of wards to 250.

Currently, the three corporations in Delhi – North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) – have 272 wards. While the North and South corporations have 104 wards each, the East corporation has 64.

”The MCD Bill has been brought only to delay the elections. What is the logic of reducing the number of wards? We will study the Bill and will challenge it in the court if need be,” the chief minister said.

Experts on Friday had said the civic polls are not likely to take place before five to six months from now as a fresh delimitation exercise will be required after the re-unification of the three corporations. The number of seats in the merged municipal corporation of Delhi will not exceed 250, and a special officer may be appointed to oversee its function till the first meeting of the body is held under the reunification law, according to the bill.

Delhi Congress president Chaudhary Anil Kumar had said that the BJP is only trying to postpone its defeat in the municipal polls.

”This move is a conspiracy hatched by the BJP to postpone their defeat in the civic polls. It is nowhere mentioned in the draft bill how the MCD’s financial situation will be improved,” he said.

Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta had said the bill will benefit the corporation and its employees.

”This move will strengthen the MCD and improve its services like sanitation, health and education, among others. ”The Delhi government has been troubling civic bodies by not giving them funds. They (AAP government) were weakening the MCD. The unification will help MCD employees and ensure timely disbursement of salaries and arrears,” he said.

The erstwhile MCD was trifurcated in 2011. (PTI)