The Supreme Court heldthat the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) has the power to nominate ‘aldermen’ to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers from the Delhi Government.
Under the DMC Act, Delhi is divided into 12 zones.
The Act also creates a ‘Wards Committee’ for each zone comprising elected representatives and the aldermen within that territory.
The Delhi L-G under Section 3 the DMC Act is empowered to nominate 10 aldermen who must be above 25 years of age and “have special knowledge or experience in municipal administration”.
The aldermen do not have the right to vote in the MCD meetings.
Each of the 12 Wards Committees must elect a member to be a part of the MCD Standing Committee in their first meeting.
Aldermen can vote in these elections and stand as candidates for being elected as a member of the Standing Committee.
The mayor is the nominal head of the MCD, the Standing Committee effectively manages the functions of the corporation.
The Committee cannot be constituted without the alderman participating in the voting process.