Kejriwal announces Rs 551 crore loan for municipal bodies
Kejriwal announces Rs 551 crore loan for municipal bodies
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday alleged that the BJP was preparing grounds for imposition of the Central rule by using the ongoing municipal strike. He also announced that the AAP government will extend a loan of Rs 551 crore to the North and East Delhi Municipal Corporations to pay salaries up to January 31 to their employees.
Criticising the Opposition over the issue of strike by the city’s municipal employees, Mr Kejriwal said it’s a clear case of mismanagement of funds by the civic bodies and demanded a CBI probe into the matter. Speaking from Bengaluru, where he is undergoing naturopathy treatment, Mr Kejriwal made it clear that his government does not owe any money to the civic bodies.
The MCD employees, however, refused to call off their strike even as the mayors of the North and East Delhi Municipal Corporations said they will accept the loan extended by the AAP government as a grant only.
“We do not want any loan. We want a permanent solution for timely payment of our salaries and other dues as well as unification of the three municipal corporations. Till these demands are met, we will continue the agitation,” said Rajesh Mishra, president of the United Front of Municipal Corporation Employees.
Besides the loan of Rs 551 crore, Mr Kejriwal said the Delhi government is also releasing Rs 142 crore to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation as sought by it last week by way of stamp duty. “An impression is being created as if the Delhi government is responsible for the financial mess in the MCDs which have been ruled by the BJP for the last 10 years. There are huge scams in the MCDs. A situation is being created through the strike of the municipal workers to show that there is a crisis in Delhi,” the chief minister said.
Mr Kejriwal alleged that the Modi government had dictatorial tendencies. “Someone told me they are trying to create a situation to impose the President’s Rule in Delhi, the way they imposed it in Arunachal Pradesh.”
Exuding confidence about winning next year’s municipal polls, Mr Kejriwal said the situation in the three municipal bodies was such that they should be dissolved and fresh elections held immediately. He said the joint front of 19 unions of the MCD employees have called for dissolving the civic bodies and bringing them under the Delhi government. Demanding a CBI probe into the affairs of the municipal corporations, Mr Kejriwal said, “If the CBI could probe us, then why not the MCDs. We had ordered inspection of accounts of the civic bodies, but they refused to cooperate.”
The chief minister said that his government has allocated double the amount of funds to the three civic bodies in the current fiscal compared to the previous year which, he alleged, had been diverted.
Mr Kejriwal said it was with “great difficulty” that his government has arranged Rs 551 crore for extending the loan even though the government was facing a shortfall of Rs 3,000 crore in VAT collection.
“We had to postpone some of our present commitments to next year to manage this money.”
The decision to extend the loan was taken at a meeting between MCD commissioners and representatives of the Delhi government. The amount has been given to enable the MCDs to pay salaries to the employees till January 31.
“Where did the money go As Manish Sisodia says there has been a major salary scam. Money has been stolen. House tax revenue, toll tax revenue, advertising revenue, electricity tax everything has been stolen. It is a classic case of financial mismanagement,” Mr Kejriwal said.
Alleging corruption, he said the East Delhi Municipal Corporation only collected Rs 12 crore as advertising revenue in the current fiscal.
“It should have been at least 20-25 times more. There is a scam here also. Illegal hoardings are owned by the BJP leaders. Employees have lost their faith in the MCDs. The doctors have written to us seeking that their services be transferred to Delhi government. I have asked Sisodia to examine the proposal,” Mr Kejriwal said.
On the BJP demand for implementation of the recommendations of the Fourth Finance Commission, Mr Kejriwal said the Delhi government would accept it only if the panel’s recommendation for handing over the DDA is accepted by the Centre. “The Fourth Finance Commission report was not implemented last year when Delhi was under the President’s Rule. Nor were the municipal reforms funds released.”
“We are ready to implement the Fourth Finance Commission report only when the Centre hands over the DDA to us as recommended by the same report. Municipal reform funds are only for the purpose of reforms. It cannot be paid to corporations under loss. If salary is not paid to me for two months even I will be in distress. People have made up their mind. The AAP will win whenever polls are held next.”
