Proposal to increase powers of Delhi Mayor

NEW DELHI, April 24: The BJP councillors are considering a proposal which would increase the powers of the city's Mayor and the Deputy Mayor...

NEW DELHI, April 24: The BJP councillors are considering a proposal which would increase the powers of the city’s Mayor and the Deputy Mayor. The move is aimed to transfer power to the elected members of the corporation. As of now, elected members, including the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor have very few powers.

The Mayor, who is the first citizen, is in fact nothing more than a ceremonial head. Apart from presiding over the House, the Mayor’s duties include welcoming foreign dignitaries who come to visit the Capital. The Mayor can also recommend and suggest measures. However, whether they are accepted depends largely on the discretion of the Commissioner.

The leader of the house, Shanti Desai, said that they were planning to amend the Delhi Municipal Act of 1957, which is the only way that the powers of the Mayor can be enhanced. An earlier amendment in 1993, had considerably reduced the powers of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor as well as the councillors.

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Delhi’s outgoing Mayor Shakuntala also feels that unless the office of the Mayor was vested with more powers, he could not be expected to function in an efficient manner. She also suggested that the tenure of the Mayor, which lasts one year at present, be increased.

Desai said that their focus would be on transfer of power to the elected members of the corporation. “As of now, there is very little power given to the elected members as a whole. The Mayor, Deputy Mayor and the elected members, cannot take any decisions, which is what we want to change,” he said.

Desai said that he had on several occasions proposed that there was a need to vest the Mayor with more powers. According to Desai, a committee would be constituted to look into the matter. Not only will it decide what powers should be given to the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, but also devise a system of division of powers. He said that a meeting would be held as soon as the process of electing members to the various committees of the corporation were completed.