‘EDMC WASTING MONEY; WE GAVE MORE THAN ANY PAST GOVT’
NEW DELHI: Making a scathing attack on Bjp-ruled East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday alleged that the EDMC was squandering the money in corruption.
The Deputy CM said that the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation has given “more funds” to civic bodies than any other previous governments and even an additional Rs 119 crore has been released on Saturday.
“Though the government has almost doubled the total allocation to the civic body in last two financial years but the agency, owing to corruption, has exploited the sanitation staff (safai karmis) by not paying heed to their needs. I urge the civic body to pay the staff ’s salary this time as the government has released the money for this purpose,” said Sisodia.
“This government (AAP) has given more funds to the municipal corporations than any other governments in the past. I don’t know where they spend it,” he said.
“The political executive of the municipal corporation takes interest in things like not letting the MLAS do their works under development funds, and ask municipal corporation officials to not roam around with MLAS. But, what do they do with funds given by us,” he asked.
Sisodia also alleged that the Bjp-ruled civic bodies were “busy extracting bribe and not taxes”.
“If they would collect taxes properly, from half of its amount, they can pay for the salaries of these employees. But, we don’t know which drain they flush the money,” he said.
The Bjp-ruled corporations have blamed the AAP government for the civic mess in the capital. “You (media) should ask the MCD, what happened to the fund we gave them. What are they accusing us of,” he said.
Meanwhile, the civic condition in east Delhi has worsened, with garbage dumped in the open in areas like Laxmi Nagar, Patparganj, creating potential health hazards for the people.
“We are yet to be paid our three months’ salary (Octoberdecember), DA, bonus. This is the reason we aren’t able to pay school fees of our children and marriages have been postponed. We will continue with the strike, until our demands are met,” president of Delhi unit of MCD Swachhata Karmchari Union Sanjay Gehlot said.
“If our demands are not met, we will take a strict stand from Monday,” he said and claimed that 17,000 sanitation workers are participating in the strike.
“Delhi government has given more money to the MCD than what should have been given. If you didn’t have money, you should have requested for funds to the Delhi government in advance,” claimed AAP MLA from Kondli Manoj Kumar.
East Delhi generates a large quantity of garbage with Ghazipur landfill site receiving on an average 2,500 tonnes of waste daily.