BJP-led Centre doesn’t care for Delhi, says Sisodia
The Delhi government on Thursday said it was disappointed with the Union Budget 2018-19 since the state’s share in central taxes has not changed. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the Centre of meting out “step-motherly” treatment to the residents of the national Capital.
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, pointed out how Delhi’s share in central taxes had remained stagnant since 2001 at ₹325 crore.
In his Budget speech on Thursday, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley allocated ₹790 crore for Delhi while the state’s share in central taxes and duties remain unchanged.
“I had expected some financial assistance to important infrastructure projects for national capital. Am disappointed that Centre continues its step-motherly treatment to Delhi,” CM Kejriwal wrote in a tweet.
WHAT DELHI DIDN’T GET No increase in share in central taxes
The AAP government had been demanding the Centre to enhance its allocation from ₹325 crore to at least ₹5,000 crore. “The national Capital’s budget has increased from ₹8,739 crore in 2001-02 to ₹48,000 crore in 2017-18. Unlike Delhi, other states get their share based on the annual increase in the collection of central taxes,” said Sisodia.
No amount for local bodies
The AAP government alleged that while the Union government provided basic and performance grants to local bodies in all other states as per the recommendations of 14th Central Finance Commission (for the award period of 2015-2020), local bodies in Delhi did not get support. “We had requested ₹1,000 crore as grant for the local bodies. But none was given,” Sisodia said. North and East corporations have been running under losses ever since the MCD was trifurcated in 2012. A debilitating financial crunch in the two corporations has led to repeated strikes by the staff over non-payment of salaries.
NEWDELHI:
Normal central assistance
Jaitley proposed a normal central assistance of ₹449.99 crore for 2018-19, compared to ₹412.99 crore in 2017-18. Sisodia said they had requested the Centre to increased the assistance to at least ₹1,000 crore in the current year’s revised estimates (RE) and ₹1,500 crore in the budget estimate (BE). Electric buses
The Delhi government said it had requested a special package to buy 2,000 electric buses for the national Capital to combat pollution. “I had personally requested a special package for 2000 electric buses for Delhi, which could have played a major role in combating air pollution. Unfortunately, the BJP-led Central government does not care for Delhi,” Sisodia said.
Delhi Police
Jaitley allocated ₹6,946 crore for Delhi Police, which comes under the Union home ministry. Last year, Delhi Police had been given ₹5,910 crore. The AAP government said that the money for Delhi police doesn’t include any special proposal for tacking crime and enhancing women safety.
WHAT DELHI GOT
A total of ₹790 crore have been allocated to the Delhi government, up from Rs 757.99 crore last fiscal. Besides the central assistance and the share in central taxes, ₹10 crore have been allocated for paying enhanced compensation to the 1984 riots victims. Additionally, Rs 5 crore has been allocated for Disaster Response Fund.