With the term of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) ending on Wednesday, civic officials said after the amalgamation of the three municipal bodies, around 700 employees will be “extra” and it will be a challenge to accommodate them for the new system. He said that by May 22, all the three municipal bodies would be dissolved, paving the way for a unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The term of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) will end on May 19, while the EDMC will complete its term on May 22.
The Center also issued a notification on Wednesday, in which it said that the three municipal bodies of Delhi will be formally merged on May 22. As per the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2022, will appoint a “Special Officer” to run the Centre. New, unified civic body until the first meeting of the corporation is held.
As per the notification, the Act will come into force from May 22. SDMC Standing Committee Chairman BK Oberoi said the term of the elected representatives of the South Municipal body ended on Wednesday.
He said that the exercise is going on to shortlist the employees before the integration of the municipal bodies. “After the amalgamation of the three municipalities, there will be around 700 employees surplus as the workforce in each department is likely to be reduced by one-third. It will be a challenge to accommodate these surplus staff for the new administration in the integrated MCD. His fate is yet to be decided.
He also said that the Centre’s notification is likely to bring more clarity on the issue. Oberoi said with the end of the term of elected representatives in the SDMC, those who have held positions including mayor, chairman of the standing committee and leader of the house in the civic body will “vacant their seats”.
“I have vacated my chair as my term as a councilor came to an end on Wednesday. I will continue to raise public issues and continue to meet the commissioner and the special officer once appointed by the Centre,” he said. A senior SDMC official said the deliberations wing constituted by elected representatives ceased to function from Wednesday, but the civic body would continue to perform its mandated duties.
He said that now there will be no policy-making exercise in SDMC and there will also be no SDMC House and Standing Committee meetings. The official said that the Union Home Ministry will issue a separate notification for dissolution and amalgamation of the three municipal bodies.
He said that the normal functions of the municipality such as sanitation practices and health related services would continue to be performed by the bureaucrats. A bill to unite the three municipal bodies was approved by the Lok Sabha on 30 March and the Rajya Sabha on 5 April. The bill became an Act after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent on 18 April.
The Act reduces the number of wards in the national capital from the existing 272 to 250, which means that the MCDs will have to go through a delimitation exercise before the elections. The Center will constitute a Delimitation Commission to demarcate the wards. Experts say that in view of the current scenario, due to the delimitation process, civic elections are not likely to be held before the beginning of next year.
The State Election Commission was supposed to announce the dates for the civic polls on March 8, but had to defer the announcement. The then State Election Commissioner had said that an hour before the announcement, the panel had received a communication from the Center regarding integration of municipal bodies.
read all Breaking News , today’s fresh news And IPL 2022 Live Updates Here.