Delhi govt asks for `4,000 crore as special environmental package

Delhi deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia has demanded a special environmental package of Rs 4,000 crore to purchase 4,000 buses in the city. This includes a total of Rs 11,000 crore additional amount the Delhi government has sought from Centre for the financial year 2016-17. The Aam Aadmi Party government has also extended her full support to the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the earliest.

“Delhi should be treated at par with other states for share in Central Taxes which is stagnant at Rs 325 crore since 2001-02. This will enable Delhi to get at least Rs 5,000 crore per annum as share in Central Taxes,” said Manish Sisodia presenting the recommendations of the Delhi government for Union Budget in the pre-budget meeting of the state ministers with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

“Delhi government should get at least Rs 2,000 crore as Basic and Performance Grants for Local Bodies similar to that of neighbouring states. This will facilitate to tide over the financial crisis in East and North Delhi Municipal Corporations,” he added. In his speech before the Finance Ministers of states, Sisodia highlighted the peculiar problems faced by the national Capital. He also raised the issue that Delhi was deprived of resources required for investments.

“Land is a valuable resource, which we don’t have. We don’t control land use. We don’t have share in Central Taxes. Our tax base is narrow because 87.5 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product is from services,” said Sisodia describing the peculiar problems Delhi is facing. 

Delhi’s Finance Minister also highlighted the achievements of the Odd-Even scheme for the first time in the country and demanded a special package to augment public transport. 

“A special package of Rs 4,000 crore from the Central government is required for purchase of 5,000 additional buses of different categories and segments which will encourage citizens to shift to public transport,” said Sisodia. He also demanded Rs 2,000 crore as basic and performance grants for civic bodies on the pattern of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. “Excise Duty on diesel vehicles may be increased because of the adverse effect on air pollution. We do not want to increase VAT on diesel vehicles as it leads to opening up of opportunities geographical tax arbitrage,” said Sisodia. He also demanded that the Government of India should formulate a scheme to address agrarian crisis and farmer distress. Compensation for crop damage of Rs 50,000 per hectare on the lines of Delhi Model should be implemented at the national level. 

He also suggested the Centre to implement recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission Report which states that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production. 

Sisodia also recommended fair and remunerative MSP for diverse crops, including pulses, millets, and oilseeds, through direct procurement or timely market intervention.