By IANS,
New Delhi: As the Delhi government Monday decided to split the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), city Mayor Rajni Abbi opposed the proposal and called it a “political move”.
Speaking to IANS, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor said: “The fight is not yet over, we are still opposing the proposal of the MCD split.”
Referring to the Congress-led Delhi government’s decision to split the BJP-controlled civic agency into three units, Abbi said: “We will not allow it, it is totally a political move to weaken the civic body.”
The 49-year-old BJP councillor recently met union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on the issue of splitting the MCD.
“I requested the home minister to consult the stakeholders. He told us that he was yet to receive a formal proposal from the Delhi government. He assured that as soon as the Delhi cabinet decision is forwarded to him, he would call the stakeholders for a discussion on the issue,” Abbi said.
The mayor also argued that the decision to split the MCD was against the basic purpose of 73rd and 74th amendment of constitution which focus on strengthening local agencies.
She said that the Delhi government’s proposal to split the MCD into three parts “is neither financially viable nor geographically feasible”.
“The division will weaken the corporation and put an additional burden of Rs.1,000 crore for developing more infrastructure, including new offices and Rs.1,000 crore for creating new posts of officials. If necessary we will even approach the prime minister on this issue,” she added.
Delhi government officials claimed that the decision to split the MCD into three units was an effort to ensure efficient functioning of the civic agency.
“In the cabinet meeting today, chaired by (Chief Minister) Sheila Dikshit, the decision was taken that the MCD will be split into three zones – north, east and south,” said a Delhi government official.
Dikshit has been campaigning for the last four months for splitting the MCD. The move has been facing stiff opposition from the opposition BJP and certain Congress leaders in the MCD.
According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, the Delhi cabinet requires the approval of the home ministry to go ahead with the division of the MCD.