New Delhi Apr 19 PTI President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Amendment Bill 2022 which seeks to unify the three civic bodies in the national capitalThe legislation was approved by the Lok Sabha on March 30 and by the Rajya Sabha on April 5The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 18th April 2022 and is hereby published for general information The Delhi Municipal Corporation Amendment Act 2022 No 10 of 2022 said a gazette notification issued by the CentreAccording to the legislation the unification of the municipal corporations in Delhi will ensure synergised and strategic planning and optimal utilisation of resourcesReplying to debates on the legislation in the Rajya Sabha Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said the move was necessitated due to the step-motherly treatment meted out to the civic bodies by the Aam Aadmi Party AAP government in DelhiThe way the AAP government in Delhi meted out step-motherly treatment towards the three civic bodies we had to bring this bill You can have animosity towards us but what animosity do you have towards the people of Delhi They have voted you to power Shah had saidThis bill is in accordance with the Constitution The Centre has the power to enact laws in the Union Territory of Delhi This bill from no angle is an attack on the federal structure the Union home minister had said allaying the concerns raised by some Opposition membersDelhi is only a Union Territory and not a full state he had said adding that Parliament has the competence to frame laws for DelhiShah had also claimed that the Centre has doubled the allocation amount to Delhi and not reduced a single penny due to it being a Union Territory but the AAP government has not paid the three civic bodies Rs 40561 crore in accordance with the fifth Finance Commission and instead given only Rs 21000 crore which is the reason behind the plight of these bodiesAccording to the legislation the total number of seats of councillors and the number of seats reserved for the members of the Scheduled Caste SC communities in the corporation shall at the time of the establishment of the corporation be as determined by the Centre and in no case be more than 250Upon the completion of each census after the establishment of the corporation the number of seats shall be on the basis of the citys population as ascertained at that census and shall be determined by the CentreThe number of seats to be reserved for the members of the SC communities shall as nearly as may be bear the same ratio to the total number of seats as the population of SCs bears to the total population of DelhiAll properties movable and immovable of or belonging to the erstwhile corporations shall vest in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi All the rights and liabilities of the erstwhile corporations shall be transferred to and be the rights and liabilities of the Municipal Corporation of DelhiAny pending proceedings including disciplinary arbitration appeal or other legal proceedings of whatever nature by or against the erstwhile corporations shall be continued or enforced by or against the Municipal Corporation of DelhiThe legislation was introduced in the Lok Sabha weeks before the polls to the three civic bodies of Delhi -- South North and East -- were scheduled to be heldThe polls were to be held in April and the Delhi State Election Commission had deferred it at the eleventh hour citing a communication from the lieutenant governor which informed that the Centre was contemplating to reunify the three MCDsThe Municipal Corporation of Delhi was trifurcated in 2011 when late Sheila Dikshit was the chief minister of Delhi and the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre PTI ACB RC