Planning to 'take over' cash-strapped EDMC: AAP govt official

Delhi government "can take over" the cash-strapped East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) under the DMC Act, if the civic body is financially not viable and failing to fulfil its responsibility, a senior official today claimed.
EDMC is facing financial crisis and a stir from sanitation workers over non-payment of salaries, and the official said that the the AAP government is also "planning to write" to the Lt Governor to hand over the charge of the municipal body to improve the financial condition of the civic body.
As per Section 490 of DMC (Delhi Municipal Corporation) Act 1957, Centre can hand over the administrative works of EDMC to Delhi government if the corporation is financially not viable and failing to fulfil its responsibility, the official claimed.

All three civic bodies are led by the BJP. The erstwhile unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was trifurcated into three civic bodies in 2012. Besides EDMC, the other two are North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).
Blaming BJP for the financial crises in the municipal corporations, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 25 had also asked the civic bodies to hand over the charge to AAP government, claiming his "government would turn around the situation" in a year.
"Government can take charge of EDMC as per Section 490 of DMC Act 1957. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will write to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung to hand over the charge of cash-strapped EDMC to it as the civic body has completely failed to fulfil its responsibility and pay salary of its staff.

"It will be first dissolved and thereafter we will take over the civic body," he claimed.

Section 490 of DMC Act refers to dissolution of the corporation.
Delhi BJP Chief and former Standing Committee Chairman of the SDMC, Satish Upadhyay, however dismissed the claims of the government as a "childish statement."
"It is a childish statement. Delhi government cannot take over as per the rule...It is totally politically-motivated stand by the AAP government," Upadhyay said.
The official also said that "Besides, there is also allegation of corruption in EDMC."
The mayors of the three civic bodies had recently met Kejriwal seeking financial aid, but the AAP government had denied it.

"If BJP-led corporations cannot pay salary to their staff then they should resign and let AAP run it. We will change the financial condition within a year and bring it into profit," Kejriwal had said in Delhi Assembly.