Union Cabinet approves Bill to merge all three Municipal Corporations of Delhi

New Delhi, March 22: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday gave its approval to present a bill for the merger of three municipal corporations in Delhi, "The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022". The central government will introduce the bill in the parliament during the current budget session 2022. Erstwhile, Delhi Municipal Corporation was split into three municipal corporations - South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) in 2011, in line with Delhi Municipal Corporation Amendment Act, 1911 (Delhi Act, 12 Of 2011). The Centre has deferred the announcement of polling dates for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) election, according to State Election Commissioner SK Srivastava, after the central government raised a few issues that the Election Commission has still to legally evaluate. Also Read | Punjab: CM Mann declares holiday on Bhagat Singh's death anniversary on March 23 He also stated that the Centre intends to "unify" the three civic bodies, which is why the poll schedule was not announced. In terms of territorial divisions and revenue-generating potential, the corporation's trifurcation was uneven. As a result, there was a significant gap in the resources available to the three corporations, vis-a-vis their obligations. The gap has expanded over time, worsening the financial difficulties of the three Municipal Corporations, leaving them unable to pay salaries and retirement benefits to their employees on time and thus posing severe challenges in maintaining civic services in Delhi. Also Read | Fuel price hike: Petrol, diesel prices increase after 137 days; check new rates -PTC News