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The leader of opposition in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Raja Iqbal Singh said that it's shocking to see Delhi's Finance Minister Atishi and Mayor Dr Shelly Oberoi demanding special funds equivalent to 5 per cent of total direct taxes collected from Delhi from Centre for MCD even as Delhi government continues to starve the civic body of it's constitutional funds.
Notably, Shelly Oberoi on Saturday requested Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to ensure a fair allocation of central government funds for Delhi's development and maintenance. In her letter, Oberoi requested an allocation of Rs 10,000 crores to the MCD to support the city's needs. Singh said, "Today in 2024, MCD should have been ideally getting funds as per the recommendations of the 7th Delhi Finance Commission (DFC) but here, Delhi Government is giving funds to the MCD as per the recommendations of the 5th DFC submitted in 2016-17." He added, "The mandatory 6th DFC was not constituted in 2016-17 what to say of the constitution of the 7th DFC which would have been due in 2021-22." Singh further said that the Delhi Government owes arrears amounting to over Rs 20,000 crores on MCD since 2015-16 as per recommendations of the 4th DFC, which were denied by the Kejriwal Government to MCD as BJP was in service in the civic body today. Singh also said, "Today, Aam Aadmi Party is in power in MCD and it is shameful to see Kejriwal Government demanding special funds for MCD from the Centre Government even as it is itself denying proper funds to MCD." The MCD LOP further said, "Till March 2022, AAP denied MCD proper funds with political bias but one fails to understand why even now, AAP government is denying MCD proper funds as a result of which MCD's Primary Sanitation, Education and Health Services have all but collapsed." The LoP in MCD has also demanded that the Delhi Government should immediately constitute the 6th Delhi Finance Commission and immediately release all arrears due to MCD which amount above Rs 20,000 as of March 2022. He added, "We have never heard of Delhi government releasing MCD arrears thereafter too in last two years." (ANI)
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