MCD Mayors refute government claims on release of funds

The three Mayors of the BJP-ruled MCDs have asserted that the Delhi government is revealing half facts and sitting on Rs 2,501 crore due to the Corporations. 

The Mayors claimed that under the DMC Act, there are provisions of releasing shares on time but the government, in order to defame civic agencies, has stopped releasing money which has led to severe fund crunch. The Mayors also announced that they will move the court.

The Capital has been witnessing strikes of sanitation workers for the last nine days over the non-payment of salaries and other allowances. 

Another agency, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), had refuted the claims of Chief Minister that alleged that the DDA owes approximately Rs 1,500 crore to the Municipal Corporations. Earlier, the CM had written to the Lieutenant Governor (LG) saying that the authority owes more than Rs 1,600 crore on this account.

Mayor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation Subhash Arya said that the Delhi Chief Minister is misleading the people on the issue of release of funds for safai karmcharis. 

“The government is claiming that DDA is having Property Tax liability of Rs 1,500 crore whereas the liability of various government departments that are more than Rs 400 crores is not even mentioned. 

He demanded that the government must release the pending Property Tax from all its departments so that the demands of the safai karmcharis can be met. The government is not implementing IVth Finance Commission’s pending report,” said Arya. 

Harsh Malhotra, Mayor of East MCD, said: “As per DMC Act 484 (1) sub section (iv) the government shall appoint a Director of Local Bodies to assist the government and discharge functions including: to resolve the functional and administrative anomalies or difficulties arising, if any, after constitution of the three Corporations in consultation with the Commissioner(s) thereof.” 

Ravinder Gupta, Mayor of North Corporation, said that the government should stop creating confusion in the mind of public and alleged that 536 Crores are spent on advertisement.

The DDA through a demi-official letter to the Chief Secretary, informed in full detail that DDA lands are union lands in terms of Article 239AA read with Entry No 18 of the State List of the Constitution of India and is not obliged to pay property tax in respect of such lands. 

DDA also clarified that in respect of properties (permanent office buildings, staff quarters and rented properties) where property tax is due to the Corporations, it has been paying such tax regularly.