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THE DELHI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION ACT, 1957
INTRODUCTION
Municipal Government of Delhi was being administered as per the provisions of the Punjab
District Boards Act, 1883 (2 of 1883) and the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 (3 of 1911). To run the
municipal affairs of Delhi, there were various bodies and local authorities viz., (1) The Municipal
Committee, Delhi; (2) The Notified Area Committee, Civil Station; (3) The Notified Area
Committee, Red Fort; (4) The Municipal Committee, Delhi-Shahdara; (5) The Municipal
Committee, West Delhi; (6) The Municipal Committee, South Delhi; (7) The Notified Area
Committee, Mehrauli; (8) The Notified Area Committee, Najafgarh; (9) The Notified Area
Committee, Narela; (10) The District Board, Delhi; (11) The Delhi State Electricity Board; (12) The
Delhi Road Transport Authority; and (13) The Delhi Joint Water and Sewage Board. With so
many bodies and local authorities looking after the municipal affairs, complications and problems
were being faced by the various authorities as well as by the public. A need to have a unified
body to administer the Municipal Government of Delhi was strongly felt. Accordingly to
consolidate and amend the laws relating to the Municipal Government of Delhi the Delhi
Municipal Corporation Bill was introduced in the Parliament.
Act 66 of 1957
The Delhi Municipal Corporation Bill having been passed by both the Houses of the Parliament
was assented by the President on 28th December, 1957. It came on the Statute Book as THE
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION ACT, 1957 (66 of 1957).
List of Amending Acts
1. The Repealing and Amending Act, 1960 (58 of 1960).
2. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1961 (42 of 1961).
3. The Delhi Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1962 (57 of 1962).
4. The Repealing and Amending Act, 1964 (52 of 1964).
5. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1968 (2 of 1968).
6. The Delhi Road Transport Laws (Amendment) Act, 1971 (71 of 1971).
7. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1974 (55 of 1974).
8. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1983 (8 of 1983).
9. The Delegated Legislation Provisions (Amendment) Act, 1983 (20 of 1983).
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10. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1984 (42 of 1984).
11. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1987 (8 of 1987).
12. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1988 (11 of 1988).
13. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1993 (67 of 1993).
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the Municipal Government of Delhi.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
Chapter I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, it extends only to Delhi.
(3) The provisions of this Act, except this section which shall come into force at once, shall come
into force on such date1
as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
appoint:
Provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any
reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a
reference to the coming into force of that provision.
2. Definitions
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(1) "Administrator" means the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi;
(1A) "Appellate Tribunal" means an Appellate Tribunal constituted under section 347A;
(2) "budget-grant" means the total sum entered on the expenditure side of a budget estimate
under a major head and adopted by the Corporation and includes any sum by which such budget- grant may be increased or reduced by transfer from or to other heads in accordance with the
provisions of this Act and the regulations made thereunder;
(3) "building" means a house, out-house, stable, latrine, urinal, shed, hut, wall (other than a
boundary wall) or any other structure, whether of masonry, bricks, wood, mud, metal or other
material but does not include any portable shelter;
(4) "bye-law" means a bye-law made under this Act, by notification in the Official Gazette;
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(5) "casual vacancy" means a vacancy occurring otherwise than by efflux of time in the office of a
councillor or an alderman or in any other elective office;
(6) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Corporation;
(7) Corporation" means the Municipal Corporation of Delhi established under this Act;
(8) "corrupt practice" means any of the practices specified in section 22;
(9) "dangerous disease" means—
(a) cholera, plague, chicken-pox, small-pox, tuberculosis, leprosy, enteric fever, cerebrospinal
meningitis and diphtheria; and
(b) any other epidemic, endemic or infectious disease which the Commissioner may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a dangerous disease for the purposes of this Act;
(10) "Delhi" means the entire area of the Union territory of Delhi except New Delhi and Delhi
Cantonment;
(11) "Delhi Cantonment" means the area for the time being within the local limits of the Delhi
Cantonment Board;
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(15) "drain" includes a sewer, a house drain, a drain of any other description, a tunnel, a culvert, a
ditch, a channel and any other device for carrying off sewage, offensive matter, polluted water,
waste water, rain water or sub-soil water;
(15A) "Election Commission" means the Election Commission of the National Capital Territory of
Delhi referred to in section 7;
(15B) "Election Commissioner" means the Election Commissioner of the National Capital
Territory of Delhi appointed by the Administrator under section 7;
(16) "entertainment" includes any exhibition, performance, amusement, game or sport to which
persons are ordinarily admitted on payment;
(17) "factory" means a factory as defined in the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948);
(18) "filth" includes offensive matter and sewage;
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