MCD revenue not going into government treasury: AAP

New Delhi: Senior AAP spokesperson and MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj on Friday said that the revenue earned by the Building Department of the East MCD fell to an appalling Rs 37 crore towards the end of 2021 from Rs 156 crore in 2018-19.

He added that the BJP-led MCD stopped passing building plans and individual councillors started filling their pockets by taking money from local shopkeepers instead. He also said that it is highly convenient for the BJP-ruled MCD to not have money in its treasury, as it then turns to the Delhi government for financial help. He demanded that Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta or any Mayor of MCD should answer why the money coming into the MCD treasury is decreasing so drastically.

Saurabh Bhardwaj said: "We will be addressing the MCD's revenue generation system today. Every government or political body has two options when it comes to spending the money which comes from the pockets of the common man. This money will either go into the individual pockets of political leaders or it will go into the government's treasury. If we look at parking as a revenue source for the MCD, the public is paying some Rs 20 for a parking space which is either going into a BJP councillor's pocket or the MCD's vaults. This is the corruption.

"When a person in Delhi is building a hut, a flat, a bungalow or a farmhouse – they are spending money by paying someone belonging to the MCD. Now it is important to find out whether this money is actually reaching the MCD treasury or is being intercepted to fill the pockets of a councillor, or an officer, or a mayor. If the people in power continue to fill their pockets, the government's treasury will remain empty. If they control the amount of money entering their pockets, then the treasury will not run out. This is the straightforward system of revenue generation in any governing body."