JOIN USThe civic agency in south Delhi has started using the name Municipal Corporation of Delhi (South) without waiting for an amendment in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. The new name–instead of South Delhi Municipal Corporation–appears in official documents and in newspaper advertisements.
The agency’s officials did not have a satisfactory explanation for jumping the gun, especially, when the other two corporations have put off their own renaming due to lack of approvals.
Manish Gupta, commissioner, south corporation, said, “We had sent many proposals to the government and changing the name of the corporation is one of them.”
Asked about the changed name being used in advertisements, he said: “There isn’t a concious effort to do so. Somebody must have changed the name as an substitute for the current name.”
On March 8, the corporation gave an advertisement in the name of “Municipal Corporation of Delhi (South)” in an English newspaper. Earlier this year, the three municipal corporations sent a resolution to the city government for changing their names.
“A proposed change in name has been an on-going process and several suggestions and trials have been on the table,” said a senior official.
The other corporations are awaiting amendment in the New Delhi Municipal Act, 2012–the Act which created the civic agencies in 2012.
“The trifurcation happened by introducing an amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957. So the names can be changed only by another amendment in the Act and a subsequent nod of the Union government,” said Yogendra Singh Mann, spokesperson, North and East Corporations.
The proposal for the new name is welcomed by councillors in the three civic agencies–north, south and east.
“People associate with MCD more than the NDMC (North Delhi Municipal Council). So we want the name to be changed,” said Mira Aggarwal, leader of the House, North Corporation.
“Also, NDMC is a traditional acronym for the New Delhi Municipal Council. The new name will end this confusion too. So we have suggested Municipal Corporation of North Delhi,” she added.
The urban development department formulates policy, provides funds, monitors and coordinates the activities of the municipal corporations.