In the biggest political move after winning Delhi Assembly polls in 2015, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia on Thursday asked the Central Government to dissolve BJP-led three municipal corporations in the national Capital. Giving a new twist to ongoing crisis in the corporations due to strike of municipal employees, Kejriwal and his deputy demanded immediate elections of three civic bodies.
The Chief Minister, who is undergoing naturopathy in Bengaluru for a cough problem, tweeted: “Management of an organization, which can’t pay salaries to employees, doesn’t hv rt to continue. MCD shud be dissolved. Hold fresh elections (sic.).”
His deputy, Manish Sisodia, asked the Centre to dissolve the three MCDs as the ruling dispensation “had failed on all fronts of governance”.
Political analysts feel that the mess in the civic bodies has been created deliberately with political motives. Interestingly, the Delhi Government had made it clear that they will not fund the bypolls in 13 municipal wards but will foot the bills if the three corporations were dissolved and fresh elections were held. The issues started on Wednesday when all employees of three corporations went on strike demanding immediate release of salaries and other allowances triggering war of words between the BJP and the AAP. Corporation councillors blamed the Kejriwal Government for not releasing their dues while the Kejriwal Government claimed that it has released all its funds.
“Kejriwal’s tweet to dissolve the three municipal corporations in Delhi has once again highlighted the fact that the AAP Government was not in favour of allowing the three civic bodies to complete their full term till 2017. The three municipal bodies can be dissolved only after the Delhi Cabinet makes such a recommendation to the Union Government. It also reflects that financial crisis in the corporations are created by the Delhi Government,” political experts said, adding the crisis seems to be politically motivated as the AAP Government counsel had reportedly told the court that the Government is ready to fund for entire civic body elections but it would not provide fund for by-elections of the wards.
The main reason for poor financial health of the municipal bodies is due to politically motivated trifurcation of the MCD, rampant corruption, poor financial management and step-motherly treatment being meted to them by the Arvind Kejriwal Government.
According to former MCD commissioner and Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta the Government should immediately release funds to the three municipal bodies so that their day-to-day work is not affected. “The Government has not analysed the impact of trifurcation till date. And when the trifurcation took place, there was an understanding that the Delhi Government would extend financial support to the East and North municipal bodies for a period of at least 10-15 years. This has not happened,” Mehta said.
Officials say that the financial health of the municipal bodies had been affected as the trifurcation had increased their financial burden. “Earlier there used to be one mayor, one municipal commissioner and one chairman of the standing committee. Now there are three mayors, three commissioners, three standing committee chairpersons and three leaders of the opposition.”
Besides, the three municipal bodies had not been able to increase their revenue. The property tax in the city has not been increased for over the past 10 years. “On one hand expenses have gone up, on the other hand revenue has not increased. So, in such a situation how can one expect the municipal bodies to meet their day-to-day expenses,” said they.
The other reason being cited by some experts for fund shortage in the municipal bodies is due to lack of political will of some parties to run these agencies in an efficient manner. The trifurcation of the MCD, which used serve 95 percent of Delhi’s land area and had been providing services to 98 per cent of its population, was done because then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit wanted to wrest control over the civic agency.
From mere 136 wards, the MCD was trifurcated into 272 municipal wards. North and South municipal bodies are now having 104 wards each and East Delhi corporation has only 64 wards. Both North and South corporations have 26 Assembly seats each, but East corporation has only 16 seats.
With the emergence of the AAP in Delhi’s politics, both the Congress and the BJP are devising strategies on how to checkmate the newbie party in the 2017 municipal elections.
On Thursday, addressing a Press conference, Sisodia slammed the office bearers of the civic bodies for engaging in “garbage” politics, claiming sanitation workers had been “instigated” to throw garbage in front of his official quarters. “We paid them funds before time without even adjusting the loans amounting to around Rs 6,000 crore extended by us. Despite this the workers were being instigated to throw garbage in front of our houses and offices,” Sisodia told reporters.