New Delhi, Mar 22 (PTI) The BJP on Tuesday welcomed the Centre’s move to reunify the city’s three MCDs while Delhi’s ruling AAP decried it as a “tactic” to delay municipal polls even as the Congress said that the “financially-starved” civic bodies needed funds and not the merger.
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to a bill to merge the three municipal corporations in Delhi, a move that is likely to escalate the ongoing political tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the high-stakes civic polls.
According to sources in the government, the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill is likely to be introduced in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament.
Delhi BJP President Adesh Gupta said that the trifurcation had weakened the financial health of the existing civic bodies in the city and unification will help in making the corporation financially stable.
“Unification of civic bodies will strengthen the corporation and ensure better development in Delhi. The Delhi government was not clearing dues of the civic bodies as it had to pay dues of over Rs 13,000 to corporations.
“Unification of MCDs will also help in better development works and timely disbursal of salaries of employees,” Gupta said.
He also said that many other reforms such as the tenure of the mayor are to be done that will be addressed in the Bill.
He said that the AAP is opposing the move because it will strengthen the corporation.
“In the last seven years every day they worked to weaken civic bodies. The Centre’s move will prove to be very beneficial for Delhi residents and the civic body. The Modi government always works for the betterment of the people,” Gupta added.
Delhi BJP MP and former state unit chief Manoj Tiwari also welcomed the move and said that after the unification, funds would be disbursed directly to the MCD. “The Delhi government was troubling civic bodies by blocking their funds. But now after their unification, the MCD will not only be able to get funds from the Centre directly but also help in the inclusive growth of the city.
“I had promised when I was Delhi BJP president that I will make efforts to get funds directly from the Centre after getting civic bodies unified,” Tiwari said in a statement in Hindi.
The AAP slammed the Union Cabinet’s nod to the bill as a “tactic to delay”‘ civic polls and asserted that “it will not make any difference in the poll prospects as the Delhiites have made up their mind to oust the BJP from power in the city”‘.
AAP’s Delhi unit convenor and Environment Minister Gopal Rai alleged that the Centre has brought the bill as the BJP was set to lose in the election. The BJP should “give up” its efforts to keep municipal elections on hold as it would not change its fate, he added.
Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken said that the unification of municipalities will help improve its financial position.
“General consensus is that along with being administratively beneficial, the unification of the Municipal Corporations will improve its financial position, he said but added that the Union Government should have brought this bill at least six months earlier to prevent any delay in elections.
He also blamed the Delhi government for the poor financial condition of civic bodies.
“Delhi’s AAP Government cannot escape any blame, as they had financially starved the municipal corporations for political reasons. The Union and State Government should not enter into a new blame game and ensure holding of MCD elections as soon as possible,” Maken said in a series of tweets.
Delhi Congress President, Chaudhary Anil Kumar said that the merger of civic bodies is a “scripted move” by the BJP and the AAP to postpone the MCD elections. He also said that the MCDs required funds and not the merger.
He said that if the merger of the MCDs could improve things, then the New Delhi Municipal Council should also be merged with the corporations for better governance of Delhi. PTI AKM AKM RT
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Source: The Print
