Unification of MCD: What is Shah’s plan for Delhi?

Political observers are convinced the objectives behind Centre’s sudden move to unify the three municipal bodies in Delhi into a single entity goes beyond the ones stated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah who has brought the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in Parliament.

While replying to the debate on the bill in Lok Sabha on March 30, Shah said that the bill sought to ensure a robust mechanism for synergised and strategic planning and optimalutilisation of resources;bring about greater transparency, improved governance and more efficientdelivery of civic service for the people of Delhi.

The opposition, however, is sceptical that the bill has been brought for these purposes alone. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)even went on to claim that the BJP was “scared” and avoiding elections for fear of defeat. The opposition also questioned the timing of the decision to postpone the civic bodies elections at the eleventh hour. The decision apparently came just hours before the election to the three municipal bodies were going to be announced by the state election commission.

There appears to be some substance in the opposition’s allegations that it is being done to weaken the Delhi Government. AlthoughShah in his reply in Lok Sabha claimed that the BJP was “not interested” in usurping power in any state, but people outside the BJP understandably find it difficult to digest.

The Congress alleged that the government’s move was an attempt to regain control of the national capital, and claimed that the legislative competence over such matters rests with the Delhi assembly and not Parliament.

So, what is Shah’s plan?

The BJP has not been able to wrest control of the Delhi Government ever since it lost power to the Congress in 1998. The BJP had come to power in Delhi in 1993 when the Delhi Legislative Assembly was formed. But it was unseated by the Congress in 1998, which successfully ran the Delhi Government for three consecutive terms under the stewardship of chief minister Sheila Dikshit whose governance is still praised by the Delhiites. All this while, despite desperate attempts the BJP’s strength in the assembly kept sliding.

After the emergence of Aaam Aadmi Party, the BJP was reduced to a mere three seats in the House of 70 in 2015.

The BJP, and Shah, could have realised that if they could not wrest Delhi even under Modi’s command, they cannot win the city government in the near future. AAP’swinning 90-plus seats in Punjab – largely by selling the so-called “Delhi Model” – must have sounded alarm bells in the BJP camp. If Kejriwal could sell the almost non-existent “Delhi Model” in Punjab, he may do it elsewhere. With Kejriwal having mastered some of the tricks of ModiShah in political guile, the latter could be seeing the Delhi CM as a threat. The Gujarat elections are just round the corner.

After unification, the MCD would have one Mayor and one municipal commissioner as earlier. The bill ends the new municipal body’s dependence on the Delhi Government for funds and the MCD would directly be governed by the central government.

Since the Delhi Government already has very little left in terms of its jurisdiction with Lt Governor being the de facto authority after Shah’s amendment to GNCTD Act last year, the Mayor would be a more powerful figure in Delhi given the wide range of services the MCD provides and its varied revenue sources.

Interestingly, while the BJP could not get a majority in Delhi Assembly, it has been comfortably ruling over the MCD since 2007.

So, the entire idea appears to nip the “Delhi Model” in the bud. Some opposition politicians even think that at some point the Centre may dissolve the Delhi Assembly and revert the city administration to pre-1993 model.

Shah also said in his reply that the Centre cannot be a mute spectator to happenings in the national capital.

(This was first published in National Herald on Sunday)

(Views are personal)