The Delhi Municipal Corporation Bill, 2022 — seeking an amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 — has been passed in the Lower House of the Parliament. The Bill aims at unifying the three municipal corporations of Delhi — North, South, and East Delhi — into an "integrated and well-equipped entity" with a "robust mechanism for synergized and strategic planning and optimal utilization of resources." The Bill, however, appears more of an undoing of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2011 which, the Central government believes, has failed to serve its core objective of creating "compact municipalities at various centers in Delhi in the interest of providing more efficient civic services to the public." The 2011 amendment act had essentially trifurcated the erstwhile unified Delhi Municipal Corporation — instituted under the principal 1957 Act. The three Municipal Corporations of Delhi are indeed reeling under a crisis due to inefficient revenue generation plans and an uneven distribution of resources. It is also true that the MCDs have been resource-constrained and are unable to make timely payments of salaries and retirement benefits to their employees — leading to frequent strikes and sanitation issues across the city. But, is transferring greater powers to the Central government under the garb of unification a solution to these deep-rooted problems? If the problem is in revenue generation or distribution of resources, the Central government should lay greater focus on coordinating with the Delhi government to solve the same. Since the Parliament had amended the principal Act of 1957 in 2011, it must have sought to address particular inconsistencies in the unified MCD. Taking recourse to unification should be considered in a very careful manner. In fact, the unified MCD prior to the 2011 Act had its own set of challenges. While the debate around the merit/demerit of unified MCD is one aspect, the passing of the bill raises some broader concerns as well. Notably, under the 2011 Act, the Delhi government had wide-ranging powers in decision-making — including fixing the number of seats for councillors, dividing zones and wards, sanctioning suits for compensation against the commissioner for loss or waste or misapplication of Municipal Fund or property, among other things. Under the 2022 Bill, these powers are sought to be transferred to the Central government, which goes against India's long-held principle of cooperative federalism. The Bill further omits the provision for a Director of Local Bodies. Under the 2011 Act, the Director of Local bodies is entrusted with responsibilities like coordinating between corporations, collecting toll tax etc. Primarily, its role is to assist the Delhi government in matters related to municipal governance. On the contrary, for the time being, the Central government is likely to appoint a special officer to look into the functioning of corporations. While the Home Minister cited Article 239 as the Constitutional ground for introducing the Bill, the Opposition is citing misuse of the same in taking full control of the corporations. Delhi is one among the administrative units within the country that remains a distant dream for the saffron party despite its all-out efforts to come to power. It is being speculated that greater control over the MCD may lead to a parallel power centre of governance in Delhi, which will give the BJP a chance to exhibit an alternative development model vis-à-vis the popular 'Delhi Model' ahead of the assembly polls. It must be noted, however, that the deliberations for the unification of MCDs have been continuing for over four years. Once the Bill becomes an Act and takes legal force, a fresh delimitation exercise will be carried out, which may take around a year — postponing the municipal corporation elections by a significant time period. The buffer period and extended powers allowed by the passing of the bill will allow a certain political party to ward off the anti-incumbency factor it has been facing on account of 15 years of governance. The difficulties faced by the municipal corporations of Delhi undoubtedly present a concerning situation. While the Delhi Municipal Corporation Bill, 2022 recognizes the problem, it falls far behind in offering any meaningful solution. The Bill is heavily lacking in detail and protocols for taking MCDs out of the quagmire. To make things worse, the Bill transgresses upon the hard-earned Constitutional powers of the Delhi government, undermining the principles of federalism. Even if powers need to be transferred to the Central government for the greater good of the ailing corporations, it should come through due deliberations, and not through unilateral force of the political majority in the Parliament.