The conflict between the BJP-led municipal corporations and the AAP Government seems to be spiraling into a war of words with the leaders of civic bodies lashing out at the Delhi Government and charging Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with wanting to “dilute their autonomy”. Moreover, the leaders also warned that they will explore legal options to resolve the issue, which has broken out with the ruling AAP, over the demand for funds.
On Wednesday, Kejriwal charged the BJP with inefficiently running the three civic bodies and said, “If MCD is not working then the BJP should resign. AAP will turn MCD into a profit-making venture within a year.” In a joint Press meet here, the leaders of the civic bodies charged that the Delhi Government was out to undermine them by presenting a properly functioning firm as a loss-making institution.
“The statement given by the CM is unconstitutional and reflects his distrust in existing system. He, somehow, wants to infringe upon the rights of the corporations and the elected representatives as the BJP controls these bodies. He always talks about corruption in civic agencies but has failed to establish a single case of corruption. Although there is rampant corruption in the various departments of the Delhi Government, the CM is silent on them,” said Meera Aggarwal, leader of the House of north MCD.
Kejriwal claims that the AAP Government can turn these corporations into profit-making bodies within one year, but he seems to be unaware of the fact that these municipal bodies are responsible for providing civic amenities and survive on grants from the State and the Union Government. “The corporations ensure civic services in public welfare but the Delhi CM is trying to project them as loss-making institutions and is coming up with lame excuses to defame them,” she added.
Ram Narayan Dubey, leader of the House of east MCD said, “The roads constructed by the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi Government are washed away with light showers, whereas leaking potholes are another evidence of the widespread corruption in PWD of the Delhi Government. There is a deluge of water and sewer-related complaints from various nooks of the city. The Delhi Transport Corporation is also facing severe financial crisis and most of its employees have been working without a salary for last couple of months. The health services in Delhi are also deteriorating ever since the AAP Government took charge. So, before launching an attack the CM should first check corruption in departments under his leadership.”
The Delhi Government does not even implement the recommendations of the Finance Commissions, constituted by the AAP itself. “According to the recommendations of the third Finance Commission, the corporations should have received the global share in the ratio of 5.5 per cent which was reduced to four percent. On the other hand, recommendations of the 4th Finance Commission, which advocates the global share for local bodies up to 12.5 per cent and full reimbursement for the expenditure on education, are yet to be placed in the Assembly,” added Dubey. The three civic bodies together have a jurisdiction of nearly 1,400-sq.km.