Jail for land deal? DMC Act says so

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, while inaugurating expressway projects in the national capital, referred to anarchaic legal provision in the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act that allows for a one-month jail term for sanitation workers who fail to report for work.

- Paras Singh

Officials aware of the matter said that this outdated provision in the DMC Act, 1957, falls under Section 298 and is among many archaic laws that will be repealed.

Some of the archaic provisions include “power to expel lepers and disturbers from markets”, prohibition on “stacking or collecting of wood, dry grass, straw or other inflammable materials”, and “care of naked lights”, among others. The amendments also seek to decriminalise various minor offences, replacing them with higher penalties and fines.

A senior MCD official said that the process to create a model act and update the old provisions has been underway for many years.