Delhi’s three civic bodies to be merged from May 22: Centre’s notification

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued a notification for the unification of BJP-ruled three municipal corporations of Delhi (MCD) into a single entity with effect from May 22. With this, the South, North, and East MCD will be treated as one Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, the central government will appoint a “special officer” to run the new unified civic body until the first meeting of the corporation is held.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 (10 of 2022), the Central Government hereby appoints the 22nd day of May, 2022, on which the Municipal Corporation of Delhi shall be constituted,” the notification reads.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s term ended on Wednesday.

The other two civic bodies — North Delhi Municipal Corporation and East DMC – will be completing their terms on May 19 and May 22, respectively, news agency PTI reported.

A senior SDMC official said the exercises of the deliberative wing, which is formed by the elected representatives, will cease to operate from Wednesday but the civic body will keep functioning its obligatory duties.

“From Wednesday, there will no policy-making exercises in the SDMC. Meetings of the SDMC House, standing committee will also not be carried out. The Union home ministry will issue a separate notification for dissolving the three civic bodies and unify them,” an official told PTI on Tuesday.

In April, the Parliament approved the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill-2022, thereby giving a nod to unifying three civic bodies of the national capital.