New Delhi: The Delhi government on Monday decided to split the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) into
three smaller bodies while the number of wards will remain at
the existing 272.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said the Cabinet has
taken the decision to ensure efficiency in municipal services
in Delhi.
She said consultations were held with Congress chief
Sonia Gandhi and several party leaders before finalising the
decision to split the civic body into three parts.
Fifty per cent of the seats will be reserved for women
as against the existing 33 per cent, she said.
Dikshit said a four-member committee of officials have
been appointed to finalise nitty-gritties for setting up of
the new bodies following which a proposal will be sent to the
Union Home Ministry for approval.
The members are Finance Secretary D M Spolia,
Principal Secretary to Chief Minister M M Kutty, Law Secretary
S P Garg and Urban Development Secretary R K Srivastava. The
committee has been asked to file its report in three-four
days.
"After getting the approval from the Centre, we will
introduce a bill in the Monsoon Session of Assembly," she told
reporters after the meeting.
Sources said the Cabinet decision came hours after a
green signal was received from the party high command for
splitting the body.
The three proposed civic bodies will be formed in
North, South and East Delhi. West Delhi localities will come
under the body which will be formed in South Delhi.
Dikshit has been facing stiff opposition from within
Congress on splitting the MCD. Though a high-level committee
had recommended splitting the MCD into five, the Cabinet
tweaked the original proposal to placate those opposing the
move.
Although Dikshit has been strongly advocating for
splitting the MCD, DPCC president J P Aggarwal and several
other leaders are opposing it tooth and nail saying majority
in the party were not in favour of the proposal.
Last month, the Cabinet had accepted recommendations
of a high-level committee, headed by Health Minister AK
Walia, which suggested splitting the civic body into five
smaller municipalities. The committee had also suggested
increasing the total number of wards from the current 272 to
around 408.
PTI
