North body to file contempt petition against Delhi govt

NEW DELHI: The North Delhi Municipal Corporation is likely to file a contempt petition in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday against the Delhi government for not releasing funds as per the recommendation of the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission (DFC).

During the house meeting on Tuesday, North Corporation’s mayor Adesh Kumar Gupta directed the commissioner Madhup Vyas to take the legal opinion on the matter soon and file contempt petition within 24 hours.

“We would have taken the step earlier, but it took us time in finalising things due to court’s vacation. We are running short of funds, so much so that it has become difficult to pay the salaries of our employees regularly. Even the prominent projects are stuck in limbo though we are trying our best to generate funds from internal sources,” said Gupta. The decision came almost three months after the high court directed the Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Delhi government to release the amount as per the fourth DFC recommendation to East and North Corporation within four weeks so that the civic bodies can pay wages of their employees, both past and present. The court also mentioned that the amount will be paid for the period from November 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018.

Under the 4th DFC, the North Corporation claims to receive ₹1,616 crore and East corporation ₹3,300 crore. “Despite the court’s order on April 18, the state government has failed to transfer any funds so far. In fact, they have even stopped releasing the amount transferred under ‘plan head’; we are supposed to get an amount of ₹473 crore under the head. In the given circumstances, where will we go?” said Jai Prakash, member, standing committee chairman. The court had listed the matter for next hearing on August 28.