NEW DELHI: Days after Lok Sabha cleared a bill to reunify the three municipal corporations here, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Friday said it was “against the spirit of Indian Constitution and federal structure” for Parliament to interfere in subject of local bodies.
Addressing a post-Budget press conference, he also said that the splitting of the erstwhile unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was “done through a democratic process”. “As a Speaker, I have my protocol, but it seems this move (of reunification) has been made only to delay the (civic) polls,” Goel said.
The Assembly Speaker took strong exception to the Centre’s proposal to merge the three corporations of Delhi at a time when the polls were due, while asserting that “any ruling party which has tried to delay polls, in the country’s history, has faced worse consequences”.
The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The bill seeks to unify the three municipal corporations into a single, integrated and well-equipped entity to ensure a robust mechanism for synergised and strategic planning and optimal utilisation of resources, Home Minister Amit Shah said.
The bill was passed by a voice vote and various amendments moved by the Opposition members were rejected. “The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill seeks to confer more powers to Centre without any mention of their responsibilities. So, the government will go on financing the corporation, but the corporation will be controlled by the Centre,” Goel said.
Speaker cites report to substantiate argument
The V K Malhotra Committee report in 2004 had recommended division of MCD into five units and had suggested setting up of a ‘mayor-in-council’ for each of them. Eventually, the Assembly cleared the trifurcation of the MCD in 2011 which was later approved by the Centre