The Delhi MCA Act and issue of federalism

(Mains GS 2 : Functions and Responsibilities of the Union and the States, Issues and Challenges Pertaining to the Federal Structure)

Context:

• Recently, President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to unify the three civic bodies in the national capital.

Unification of the corporations:

• According to the legislation, the unification of the municipal corporations in Delhi will ensure synergised and strategic planning and optimal utilisation of resources.
• The Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, stated in Parliament that the law is based on the power of Parliament under Article 239AA(3)(b) to make laws for the State of Delhi “on any matter”.
• The law provides that the power to determine the number of wards, extent of each ward, reservation of seats, number of seats of the Corporation, etc. will now be vested in the Central government.
• The number of seats of councillors in the Municipal Corporations of Delhi is also to be decided now by the Central government.
• By exercising that very power, the number of councillors to the Municipal Corporations of Delhi has been reduced from 272 to 250.

Other provisions:

• All properties, movable and immovable, of or belonging to the erstwhile corporations shall vest in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
• All the rights and liabilities of the erstwhile corporations shall be transferred to and be the rights and liabilities of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
• Any pending proceedings, including disciplinary, arbitration, appeal or other legal proceedings, of whatever nature, by or against the erstwhile corporations shall be continued or enforced by or against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
• Now the Central government decides on matters such as ‘salary and allowances, leave of absence of the Commissioner, the sanctioning of consolidation of loans by a corporation, and sanctioning suits for compensation against the Commissioner for the loss or waste or misapplication of municipal funds or property’.

Without any study or consultation.

• In a move which unify the trifurcated Delhi Municipal Corporations, the Central government has conferred upon itself various crucial powers to assume control over the Municipal Corporation of Delhi from the State government.
• The Delhi Municipal Corporation was split into three regions, i.e., east, south and north, in 2011 after much deliberation and discussion at various levels.
• The split-up was first proposed in the 1987 Balakrishnan Committee Report which was bolstered in the 2001 Virendra Prakash Committee Report.
• Since the recommendations had to be processed by the Central government, another committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Ashok Pradhan to study the issue.
• The proposal finally took shape in 2011 and the law to trifurcate was enacted after well thought out and studies.
• However, the decision to reunify has been done at the behest of the Central government without any study or consultation.

Balanced federal structure:

• Article 239AA has, from its very enactment, been subject to numerous litigations and its scope finally determined by the Supreme Court of India in the famous State of NCT of Delhi vs Union of India judgment pronounced in 2018.
• The Supreme Court held, the Constitution has mandated a federal balance wherein independence of a certain required degree is assured to the State Governments.
• As opposed to centralism, a balanced federal structure mandates that the Union does not usurp all powers and the States enjoy freedom without any unsolicited interference from the Central Government with respect to matters which exclusively fall within their domain.”

Conclusion:

• The amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 will lead to further litigation on the aspect of a sharing of powers between the State of NCT of Delhi and the Central government.