MCD Budget cleared, resolutions moved by AAP councillors passed
: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi passed its Budget for the Financial Year 2023-24 on Wednesday.
This is the first Budget of the deliberative wing of the freshly unified MCD. During the beginning of the special Budget session of MCD’s House, Mayor Shelly Oberoi said, “This is the first Budget of the deliberative wing of the unified MCD, we owe it to the citizens of Delhi to ensure that we give them a fully functioning MCD and make it the no.1 civic body in the country.”
According to the MCD, the revised Budget estimate for 2022-22 stands at Rs 14,80,429 lakh (expenditure), while the Budget estimate for 2023-24 stands at Rs 16,02,355 lakh (expenditure).
AAP MLA and party’s MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak lauding the Budget stated that two of the promises made in ‘Arvind Kejriwal’s 10 guarantees have been fulfilled’, and slowly other guarantees would also be fulfilled.
Pathak said that MCD employees will get their salaries on time and traders will also benefit from the resolutions that were brought in the House today.
During the House session, Oberoi requested all members to maintain peace and let the House continue with dignity, and allow the discussions to take place in a healthy manner.
Private resolutions regarding hikes in parking charges, conversion charges, de-sealing, and sealing of properties were brought in by councillors. The House passed 6 proposals in total while 11 proposals were rejected. Proposals to implement a transparent and comprehensive policy regarding conversion charges on shops were passed, as well as to ensure that until the policy is in place, no sealing notices are sent to shop owners. A resolution regarding presenting the MCD’s side before the judicial committee appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the matter of sealing local shopping centres was also passed.
While MCD’s schedule of taxes was passed on February 15 by a Special Officer whose office ended once the Mayor was elected, the Budget allocations were passed on Wednesday, right as the financial year ends.
As per the Leader of the House Mukesh Goel, “If we hadn’t passed the Budget today, we would’ve had a crisis for all employees in MCD. Salaries wouldn’t reach on time and employees would have had to suffer so despite the circumstances, we passed the Budget”
During the discussion in the House regarding several aspects of the Budget, several important issues related to the veterinary department, lack of horticulture employees, non-payment of street light contractors, hike in fees for approval of maps and more were brought forth. These issues highlighted the various problems that councillors have faced in the wards. All of BJP’s private resolutions were rejected in the House.
Councillors from both parties attacked each other while raising their resolutions.
BJP Councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat said, “Even in the Delhi government, Aam Aadmi Party has constant conflicts with the employees, especially with the sanitation staff, and by rejecting the proposals for the welfare of corporation employees brought by the BJP today, Aam Aadmi Party has shown that it does not care about government employees. AAP was against employees and will remain against them.”
While AAP leaders stated that BJP is now pushing the blame for every wrong action they took in MCD in the last 15 years on AAP. AAP councillor and MCD Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammed Iqbal said, “I want to ask why you (BJP) put 11 proposals in the last 26 days and why you didn’t work on it in the 15 years you were in power.”
He further said how can the BJP compare their 5,075 days in power to AAP’s 2 months of power that has already brought a positive change in Delhi.
As required by the norms, the civic Budget has to be cleared by March 31.
