Centre to appoint a retired bureaucrat to run Capital’s unified MCD

Sources said MCD’s advisory committee to have equal representation from politicians and officers

NEW DELHI:

A retired bureaucrat handpicked by the Centre is likely to be appointed the Special Officer in charge of the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), according to sources.

This, even as discussions related to the inclusion of political leaders from the party’s Delhi unit in the advisory committee are underway along with a “significant bureaucratic overhaul” in the city after the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 — which reunified the municipal corporations in the city — received the President’s nod earlier this month. 

The selection of members of the advisory body and the constitution of the unified MCD are among the two big developments on this issue likely to take place by the end of this month. Also, by May-end the terms of the erstwhile three civic bodies — the north, east and south — are scheduled to expire.

Sources aware of developments in this regard said the advisory committee was likely to get 50% of its representatives with political backgrounds, while the other half would consist of retired bureaucrats “aware of and adept at” the functioning and administration of the civic body.

“The advisory body will have its task cut out — delivering on an administrative model which outshines the AAP state government’s so-called ‘Delhi Model’ — as soon as it can. That is only possible if the reins of the reunified civic body are helmed together by political and bureaucratic stalwarts,” said a party source.

“The way we see it, the result of this setup will help us in making decisions related to the administration of the Capital that may be taken in future,” a senior party leader said.