Union Budget 2019: Delhi’s share in taxes static for 18 yrs at Rs 325cr, Kejriwal fumes

New Delhi: The AAP government’s demand for enhanced share in Central taxes remains unfulfilled with the Union Budget on Friday allocating Rs 325 crore to Delhi, the figure remaining the same for the last 18 years.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the Union Budget, as a “routine budget” which had “nothing new”.

In a pre-Budget meeting convened by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had demanded Rs 6,000 crore for Delhi as the share from the Central taxes.

He had said that the city has been getting only Rs 325 crore for the last 18 years. The issue was raised by the AAP government including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections in May.

According to the Union Budget 2019-20, the national capital received Rs 325 crore as grants in lieu of share in Central taxes and duties, although the total transfer to Delhi from the home ministry increased to Rs 1,112 crore this fiscal from Rs 867.49 crore in 2018-19.

“There is nothing new in the Budget. It is a routine Budget,” the chief minister told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

Noting that the share in Central taxes of Delhi remains the same at Rs 325 crore, Mr Sisodia, who also holds the charge of the finance department, said the Delhi government deserves its legitimate share to finance various developmental projects.

“We had requested the Centre a number of times to enhance the allocation to at least Rs 6,000 crore as against Rs 325 crore,” he said in a statement.

Mr Sisodia said the Budget of the Delhi government has increased from Rs 8,739 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 60,000 crore in 2019-20, whereas the share in Central taxes has remained frozen Rs 325 crore since then.

Both Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia had met Ms Sitharaman recently and had pointed out that Delhi contributed around Rs 1.5 lakh crore as Income Tax revenue towards the Central exchequer. However, in return, it received merely Rs 325 crore, they had said.

The transfers to Delhi in this year’s Budget from the Union home ministry included Rs 10 crore for enhanced compensation to anti-Sikh riot victims and an additional Central assistance of Rs 300 crore for the Chandrawal water treatment plant.

The total grant Rs 1,112 crore also included Central assistance of Rs 472 crore. It was Rs 412.98 crore in 2017-18 and Rs 449.99 crore in 2018-19. The Delhi government had urged the Centre to increase the central assistance to Rs 1,500 crore in 2019-20.