Hopes dashed, say CM, Dy CM

 Kejriwal said that there is nothing in the Budget which can prevent farmers from committing suicide by providing instant relief. Besides, the government lacks the vision to realise the promise to increase their income by 2020 as they have mandate only till 2019.

“Farmers are in debt. The loans of rich industrialists have been waived off but not of the farmers. There is nothing for treatment of farmers in the Budget,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.

In another tweet he said: “Nothing for middle class in this budget. Modi govt cheated middle class which votes for them.” Kejriwal also sharply reacted to the Centre’s four-month compliance window for domestic black money holders to come clean by paying tax and penalty of 45 per cent by saying that the BJP should have proposed “enforcement” measures instead.

“BJP vowed to bring back black money through enforcement, not through amnesty schemes. This is what Chidambaram also did. What is the difference,” said Kejriwal in a series of tweets. His deputy Manish Sisodia flayed the Central government for not allocating funds for the Delhi government, package for buses and funds for MCDs which are in severe financial crises. Sisodia expressed his anguish over the share of Central taxes and said Delhi has been receiving Rs 325 crore since 2001-02 which has not been increased. 

“The Delhi government deserves its legitimate share in Central taxes to finance various development projects like transport, educational buildings and health. So we had requested the Union government number of times to enhance the allocation to at least Rs 5,000 crore as share in Central Taxes as against the Rs 325 crore being released to Delhi,” said Sisodia. “The Budget of Delhi has increased from Rs 8,739 crore in the year 2001-02 to Rs 41,129 crore in 2015-16, whereas the share in central Taxes has remained frozen at Rs 325 crore since 2001-02,” he added. Sisodia further said that Delhi’s two local bodies especially the North and East Municipal Corporations’ financial positions are bad to worse now, but the Centre has not earmarked any funds to local bodies in Delhi.

Sisodia stated that in the Union Budget 2016-17, a meagre amount of Rs 5 crore as a non-plan grant has been proposed as an assistance for Delhi Disaster Response Fund which is negligible. It is unfortunate since Delhi falls in the high seismic zone and it was hoped that the Centre will bear this important fact in mind while making allocations under this head but that eventually did not happen. The Normal Central Assistance has been increased only by Rs 18 crore (4.6 per cent) ie from Rs 394.98 crore in the current year to Rs 412.99 crore for the next year financial year. 

The Normal Central Assistance to Delhi during 2000-01 was Rs 370 crore and still after 16 years it is proposed only at Rs 412.99 crore in 2016. But the plan expenditure of Delhi has increased by six times from Rs 3,129 crore in 2000-01 to Rs 19,000 crore in 2015-16.