AAP ups ante against BJP, seeks payment of dues worth Rs 3,000 cr to Corporations

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday alleged that the Central government and its agencies owe Rs 3,000 crore to the three MCDs of Delhi, which can help these financially and functionally collapsed Corporations to revive in a short term.

After having being in a denial mode for several months, the BJP has now finally conceded that its Central government had promised Rs 500 crore last year to the financially collapsed MCDs for the much-hyped Swachh Bharat campaign.

“The much needed and belated realisation of the BJP will be of any help only if its Central government keeps its year-old promise and does indeed provide this amount. Apart from the Swachh Bharat fund, the BJP’s Central government owes the three MCDs another Rs 1,000 crore. This is to be given under the ‘Share of local bodies in taxes’. This has already being given to the local bodies of our neighbouring states, but not to Delhi. The Delhi government has already written a letter to the Union Finance Ministry in this regard,” said AAP in a statement.

It is also surprising that the BJP’s Central government is allowing the DDA to make lame excuses for not paying Rs 1,500 crore dues it owes to the MCDs. The DDA excuse that this amount has to be adjusted does not hold water since the property tax payable by it cannot be mixed with any other head, said AAP.

The party further said that it is shocking that the MCDs themselves are not interested in recovering this amount from the DDA and have allowed themselves to be dragged into litigation by the DDA.

“AAP has consistently maintained that the BJP has turned the three MCDs into a den of corruption and these can easily qualify as the world’s most corrupt and inefficient civic bodies. The state of financial collapse in the MCDs is such that despite the Delhi government having released Rs 511 crore more to the MCDs till October this year, in comparison to the corresponding period last year when the BJP’s Central government was controlling Delhi also, the situation remains precarious,” the statement added.

“Total amount released to the three MCDs till October 2015 this year by the Delhi government so far is Rs 2,370 crore, whereas, the amount released to the MCDs till October last year was Rs 1,859 crore.

“This proves that the BJP and its three mayors are bluffing and misleading the poor sanitation workers for purely political reasons,” concluded the statement.