Delhi asks Centre for ₹5,000cr to pay staff

nNEWDELHI: The Delhi government has sought immediate assistance of ₹5,000 crore from the Centre to pay salaries to its employees because revenues dried up during the lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Sunday.

Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, said he has written to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for help and added that the Delhi government has not received money sanctioned to states under the Disaster Relief Fund.

According to Sisodia, Delhi’s tax revenue has declined by 78% since the national lockdown came into force on March 25.

“At this juncture, paying salaries to government employees is our biggest concern. They include doctors, healthcare workers, teachers, etc, who have been leading the fight against the virus. We immediately need ₹5,000 crore to pay their salary,” Sisodia said in a video press briefing.

He added “Recently, the Union finance ministry announced a relief package (of ₹20 lakh crore) but there is nothing in it for Delhi... Other states have received financial assistance from the Disaster Relief Fund, but the Delhi government has not received any such aid yet... So, I have written to the Union finance minister to grant a one-time relief package of ₹5,000 crore for Delhi.”

The letter, Sisodia’s office said, was sent to the Union minister’s office on May 26.

The Delhi government’s expenditure towards salaries of its employees is around ₹3,500 crore per month, said an official in Delhi government’s finance department.

May 27

May 31

NEW DELHI:FOR the fourth day in a row on Sunday, Delhi reported over 1,000 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), with 1,295 infections taking the city’s total tally to 19,844.

The city appears set to cross the 20,000-cases mark on Monday -- just 14 days after it crossed the 10,000-mark. Delhi also added 57 deaths due to Covid-19 to its cumulative toll on Sunday, taking the number of deaths due to the disease in the city to 473.››P2