Union Government allocates adequate funds to every municipal corporation in India but not to Delhi’s Municipal Corporations: Atishi
Be it Mumbai, Chennai or Ghaziabad, every civic body gets funds as per the rate of Rs 488 per person from the BJP-led Union Government apart from the MCD: Atishi
As per Delhi’s population MCD should get at least Rs 730 crores from Centre; strangely BJP refuses to do so despite ruling both Centre and MCD: Atishi
Kejriwal Government has repeatedly given loans to BJP-ruled MCD; they owe the Delhi Govt Rs 6,862 crores including interest: Atishi
The North MCD owes Rs 3,600 crores, East MCD owes Rs 1,940 crores, South MCD owes Rs 1,322 crores to the Delhi Government: Atishi
NEW DELHI:
The Aam Aadmi Party today took on the issue of the step motherly treatment given to the MCDs by the BJP-led Union Government. AAP Senior Leader and MLA Ms Atishi stated that — BJP’s Union Government allocates adequate funds to every municipal corporation in India but refuses to give even a single penny to the MCD. Be it Mumbai, Chennai or Ghaziabad, every civic body gets funds as per the rate of Rs 488 per person but MCD is given a step motherly treatment. As per Delhi’s population MCD should get at least Rs 730 crores from Centre; strangely they refuse to do so despite ruling both governments. The Kejriwal Government has repeatedly given loans to BJP-ruled MCD; they owe the Delhi Govt Rs 6,862 crores including interest. The North MCD owes Rs 3,600 crores, East MCD owes Rs 1,940 crores, South MCD owes Rs 1,322 crores to the Delhi Government.
Senior AAP Leader and MLA Ms Atishi said, “The Central Government presented the bill in the Rajya Sabha today to unify the 3 MCDs citing the reason that the finances of the MCD will be able to function more efficiently if one civic body is formed. On the issue of why the finances are not running smoothly as of now, the Home Minister says that it is happening because the Delhi Government is behaving with partiality against the three MCDs. I would like to ask our nation’s Home Minister, is it the Delhi Government that is partial against the 3 MCDs or the Centre which is behaving with utmost ignorance and otherness with these civic bodies? The 14th Finance Commission, which laid down all the terms and conditions for budget allocation by the Centre For The Urban And Rural Local Bodies. According to this, every municipal body is assigned a funding on the basis Rs 488 per person by the Central Government in its annual budget. This fund goes to Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Chennai, Bangalore, and all other cities with municipal bodies. In the entire country, there is only a single municipal body which doesn’t get a single rupee from the Centre, forget 488 per person, and that is the Delhi Municipal Corporation.”
She added, “When the 15th Finance Commission was introduced, many state finance ministers wrote to the Centre, to the Prime Minister as well as the Union Finance Minister that Delhi’s urban local bodies should also be given the money it is due under the finance commission. Delhi’s Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal has been writing to the Prime Minister since 2016, to Shri Arun Jaitley in his tenure as Union Finance Minister, and to Nirmala Sitharaman as well. Deputy CM Shri Manish Sisodia also wrote multiple letters to the Central Government along with the CM urging them to put an end to their ignorance and bias against Delhi’s municipal bodies, and the lack of financial support from the Centre. The Delhi Government requested the Centre to allocate funds to Delhi the same way it does for all other municipal bodies in the country on the basis of Rs 488 per person. If we look at Delhi’s population of 1.5 crores, and estimate the budget total on this rate, then Rs 730 crores must be given to Delhi’s Municipal Corporation bodies every year. However, they have not given anything till date.”
She concluded, “I would like to address the Home Minister – it is your Central Government, with BJP as the ruling power, which is behaving with complete partiality against all three MCDs. It is the Centre which has not given Delhi’s civic bodies a single rupee, and who has continuously funded municipal bodies in every single city in India except for Delhi. Despite this, they have the audacity of accusing the Delhi Government of harbouring a bias against the MCDs. The Delhi Government, since 2015, has repeatedly issued loans to all three municipal bodies, because the rampant corruption in the MCDs has hindered their functioning solely on its own revenue generation systems. Today, if we look at the total loan given by the Delhi Government to the three MCDs – the North MCD owes Rs 3,600 crore, while the East MCD owes Rs 1,940 crore, and South MCD owes Rs 1,322 crore to the Kejriwal Government.”