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MLA presents polictical budget
By Our Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI, DEC. 6.
Giving enough indications of a ``no holds barred'' campaign against the Sheila Dikshit Government, the BJP-ruled MCD today came out with a political budget in which it sought to blame the Delhi Government for the ills and financial constraints faced by the civic body.
Devoting a substantial portion of his speech here on Revised Budget Estimates for 2001-2002 and Budget Estimates for 2002-2003, the Municipal Commissioner, Mr. S. P. Aggarwal, blamed the Delhi Government for delaying a large number of developmental projects and unjustified reductions in various grants.
The position of MCD's finances, which improved substantially due to better revenue collections and strict financial control, has ``suffered a setback'' due to ``faulty implementation'' of recommendations of the first Delhi Finance Commission by the Delhi Government, Mr. Aggarwal claimed.
The grants, which under the previous system were estimated by the Delhi Finance Commission at Rs. 886 crores, have been reduced to Rs. 662.68 crores as a result of an unjustified upper limit of four per cent by the Delhi Government. This was never recommended by the Commission, putting the MCD loss to nearly Rs. 224 crores on the estimates by the First Delhi Finance Commission, he said.
However, the real shortage in release of grants on Education and Resettlement Colonies was Rs. 476 crores during the relevant period. ``Even the increase of Global Share over the share in the Assigned Taxes by Rs. 319.99 crores has been offset completely by recovery of Plan loans of Rs. 316.63 crores during this period,'' Mr. Aggarwal asserted.
While the MCD proposal with regard to revision and increase in rates of penalties, which would generate an additional Rs. 25 crores per annum, has been pending for quite some time with the Delhi Government, the request for Rs. 4.5 crores grants for MCD's computerisation project is also pending.
Further, the proposal that Councillor's Fund should become a part of the overall Plan allocation on the lines of MLA and MPLAD funds, so that more internal resources could be deployed on civic services, has not found favour with the Delhi Government so far, he said.
Mr. Aggarwal said, while hospitals have been transferred to the MCD, there has not been matching reimbursement from Delhi Government. Similarly despite recommendations from Delhi Finance Commission for maintenance of assets, the Delhi Government has not provided Rs. 588 crores.
Calling for review of schemes to be funded by Plan Loans, he said that the Loans, which were not being repaid for the past several years, are now being deducted from the global share of taxes payable by the Delhi Government.
``It has a clear adverse effect on our liquidity position. What is worse, the Plan loans continue to be given only for non-remunerative schemes while Plan loans which were earlier being given for MCD's asset building schemes like Staff Quarters and Office Buildings have been stopped,'' Mr. Aggarwal said.
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