Delhi govt demands hike in share in Central Taxes

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Government on Friday asked the Centre to enhance the allocation of its share in the Central Taxes to at least Rs 6,000 crore against Rs 325 crore being released to the city for the past 18 years. Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia placed the demand before Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a pre-Budget consultation with Finance Ministers of states ahead of the Central Budget on July 5. "(I) demanded Rs 6,000 crore for Delhi. From the past 18 years, Delhi is getting only Rs 325 crore. Delhi pays Rs 1.5 lakh crore as tax to the Centre. Other states are getting 42 per cent of their share," Sisodia tweeted in Hindi. He said he had asked for a separate fund for the civic bodies. "Barring Delhi, the Centre is providing grants to all the other municipalities in the country," he said.

Sitharaman, the first full-time woman finance minister, is set to present her maiden Budget on July 5 in the Lok Sabha.

"The people of Delhi give Rs 1.5 lakh crore as central taxes. Other states get 42 per cent of share from central taxes," Sisodia tweeted in Hindi. The city government, led by Arvind Kejriwal, had been demanding that the share in central taxes and duties for it be increased.

According to it, Delhi's share in central taxes has remained static at Rs 325 crore since 2001-02. In interim budget in February this year, the Centre had allocated Rs 1,112 crore for Delhi in the Union Budget, while keeping its share in central taxes and duties unchanged.