What is the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act?

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi was established in 1958 as per the Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, with 80 councillors and was expanded over time to accommodate the growing population. In 2012, the MCD was split into three bodies to help manage the growing population of the city. However, in March last year, the Lok Sabha passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which unified the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) into the Municipal Corporation of Delhi ten years after the trifurcation of the civic body. As per the legislation, the three civic bodies were unified to ensure more efficient utilisation of resources and to reduce the financial pressures on the three bodies. The centre claimed that financial constraints had left the MCD “incapacitated to make timely payment of salaries and retirement benefits to their employees”. The Bill also stated that the 2011 trifurcation of the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi was “uneven” in terms of territorial divisions and revenue-generating potential.
One of the major changes brought about by the 2022 Amendment is that the complete control of the MCD would be transferred to the centre. This means the central government would have more control over the body than the Delhi government. Other changes include a provision which fixes the number of seats in the civic body to 250, which currently stands at 272, leading to a delimitation exercise. The centre will also appoint a special officer to oversee the functions of the Corporation. The Amendment mandates the establishment of a new e-governance system for citizen services to increase transparency in the administration of the civic body.