CENTRE TO GIVE UP CONTROL OF MCD.

THE CONTROL of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi ( MCD) is all set to pass into the hands of chief minister Sheila Dikshit after the Centre gave the proposal its ' in- principle approval'. But the move has stirred a hornet's nest with the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP), which runs the MCD, calling it a politically motivated act of the Congress- run state government and the Centre.

The Union home ministry conveyed this decision to Dikshit on Saturday. The chief minister will discuss it in a state cabinet meeting on Monday. The final approval requires a change in law and ratification by Parliament, but that should be a mere formality for the Congress- led Union government.

While announcing the decision on Sunday, the home ministry blamed the move on the MCD's failure to develop infrastructure on schedule for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

" Putting the MCD under Delhi government's control is a long- standing demand of Sheila Dikshit. She has contended that proper and planned development of Delhi's infrastructure is possibly only if the MCD works under the control of the state government and there is an end to the multiplicity of agencies in Delhi," a home ministry official said on Sunday.

"She has made a similar demand for the Delhi Police too. But given the Commonwealth Games, the ministry has given its inprinciple approval to bring the MCD under Dikshit's control." Successfully hosting the October 3-14 Games, which are expected to attract more than one lakh foreign tourists, is a prestige issue for the government. But with just one year left, infrastructure development for the extravaganza is lagging way behind schedule.

The apex committee of Commonwealth Games warned last year that if preparations were not carried out in earnest, India might be denied the opportunity to host the Games. However, both the state government and the MCD have continued to blame each other for the delay. The MCD was formed on April 7, 1958 through a parliamentary act. Today, it is the largest civic body in India and one of the largest globally, covering a densely populated area of nearly 1,400 sq km -- or 96 per cent of the city area

.

In preparation for the 2010 Games, the corporation has been entrusted with giving a face lift to 36 major roads as well as landscaping the roads leading to the main venue, the stadia and training centres.

It is also tasked with constructing a number of multilevel parking lots across the city -- including the main Games parking lot near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. It has to build 17 railway over-bridges and underbridges for the Games as well.

The home ministry has not been impressed by the progress made on most of these projects. But the MCD has repeatedly blamed the state government for the delay.

" The MCD says the Delhi government is not releasing enough funds, delaying the projects. It also blames the state government for not issuing no- objection certificates for some projects," said a home ministry official.

" But the Delhi government says the only way to complete all projects in time is to bring the MCD under its control.

Clearly, the two are not able to work in tandem, and hence the need to put them under one command." Dikshit has also blamed the MCD for water- logging caused by poor construction of roads and bad maintenance of drainage systems, which in turn leads to traffic snarls across the city. This paints a poor picture of the Capital globally, she says.

Before giving its in- principle approval, the home ministry also considered a report of Parliament's standing committee on transport, tourism and culture.

The report, submitted in February, noted that a large number of civic bodies and other agencies were involved in building infrastructure for Parliament needs to clear the move ' the Games, including the Delhi government, MCD, DDA, NDMC, CPWD and ASI. However, there was a distinct absence of a coordinating mechanism to ensure that they worked in a united manner.

Ironically, in 2007, the MCD had urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make it the nodal agency for all infrastructure development relating to the Games -- citing its contribution to building infrastructure for the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. The request was rejected.

The BJP is opposing the home ministry's decision tooth and nail. " This is muscle- flexing by the Centre," said mayor and MCD chairman Kanwar Sain. " It is a bad decision, taken because of bad political motives." The party's state unit chief O. P. Kohli wondered why Dikshit was not demanding full statehood for Delhi instead.

" Why just bring the MCD under the state government? Why not provide full statehood to Delhi? We have been pushing for that for 10 years," he said.

Sain promised to fight a legal battle against the move.

He derisively said: " We know how well the Delhi government has handled other infrastructure like electricity, water and even schools, where students die in stampedes." <p>THE CONTROL of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi ( MCD) is all set to pass into the hands of chief minister Sheila Dikshit after the Centre gave the proposal its ' in- principle approval'. But the move has stirred a hornet's nest with the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP), which runs the MCD, calling it a politically motivated act of the Congress- run state government and the Centre.

The Union home ministry conveyed this decision to Dikshit on Saturday. The chief minister will discuss it in a state cabinet meeting on Monday. The final approval requires a change in law and ratification by Parliament, but that should be a mere formality for the Congress- led Union government.

While announcing the decision on Sunday, the home ministry blamed the move on the MCD's failure to develop infrastructure on schedule for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

" Putting the MCD under Delhi government's control is a long- standing demand of Sheila Dikshit. She has contended that proper and planned development of Delhi's infrastructure is possibly only if the MCD works under the control of the state government and there is an end to the multiplicity of agencies in Delhi," a home ministry official said on Sunday.

"She has made a similar demand for the Delhi Police too. But given the Commonwealth Games, the ministry has given its inprinciple approval to bring the MCD under Dikshit's control." Successfully hosting the October 3-14 Games, which are expected to attract more than one lakh foreign tourists, is a prestige issue for the government. But with just one year left, infrastructure development for the extravaganza is lagging way behind schedule.

The apex committee of Commonwealth Games warned last year that if preparations were not carried out in earnest, India might be denied the opportunity to host the Games. However, both the state government and the MCD have continued to blame each other for the delay. The MCD was formed on April 7, 1958 through a parliamentary act. Today, it is the largest civic body in India and one of the largest globally, covering a densely populated area of nearly 1,400 sq km -- or 96 per cent of the city area

.

In preparation for the 2010 Games, the corporation has been entrusted with giving a face lift to 36 major roads as well as landscaping the roads leading to the main venue, the stadia and training centres.

It is also tasked with constructing a number of multilevel parking lots across the city -- including the main Games parking lot near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. It has to build 17 railway over-bridges and underbridges for the Games as well.

The home ministry has not been impressed by the progress made on most of these projects. But the MCD has repeatedly blamed the state government for the delay.

" The MCD says the Delhi government is not releasing enough funds, delaying the projects. It also blames the state government for not issuing no- objection certificates for some projects," said a home ministry official.

" But the Delhi government says the only way to complete all projects in time is to bring the MCD under its control.

Clearly, the two are not able to work in tandem, and hence the need to put them under one command." Dikshit has also blamed the MCD for water- logging caused by poor construction of roads and bad maintenance of drainage systems, which in turn leads to traffic snarls across the city. This paints a poor picture of the Capital globally, she says.

Before giving its in- principle approval, the home ministry also considered a report of Parliament's standing committee on transport, tourism and culture.

The report, submitted in February, noted that a large number of civic bodies and other agencies were involved in building infrastructure for Parliament needs to clear the move

aman. sharma@ mailtoday. in

Copyright 2009 India Today Group. All Rights Reserved.

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company