While the AAP Government claims to have disbursed funds, Municipal Corporations are crying foul over non-implementation of third and fourth Finance Commission reports. They fear that without assistance they won’t be able to disburse salaries to staff.
According to the statistics, the internal revenue of three corporations is Rs5,975crore, the combined salary expenditure is nearly Rs6,240crore, which includes salary of employees, arrears and medical allowances. The trifurcation has been regarded as the main source of all troubles in the Municipal Corporation.
During the trifurcation of the MCD in 2012, it was decided that the Delhi Government would be responsible to look after the financial health of Municipal Corporations and thereby will provide funds to corporations till the time they are able to financially sustain themselves.
With the trifurcation of the corporation, the salary expenditure of corporation rose by three times. Moreover, many strongly hold trifurcation the root of all the problems
Earlier the corporation had one Commissioner, six Additional Commissioners and one Municipal Commissioner. Following the trifurcation, the three MCDs appointed three Commissioners, 12 Additional Commissioners, three Municipal Secretaries and three times higher staffers like Assistant Commissioners, Revenue Collectors, three Head of the Departments for all the department of three Municipal Corporations. “As the number of employees tripled in the three Municipal Corporations, the salary expenditure also got increased three times,” said a senior officer in North Delhi Municipal Corporation.
Moreover, the three-time increase in the number of staff created a host of vacancies. To come out with a solution, the corporation borrowed employees from other Departments, gave them a hike of 20 per cent along with a promotion. “With this step, the corporation had to give a hike to a part of its employees, which could have otherwise been easily avoided,” said an official.
According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act (Amendment), 2011, 10.5 per cent of the State’s share in Central taxes is delivered to the civic bodies in three quarters (25 per cent of the total amount in the first quarter of April-June, 50 per cent of the total in July-December and the rest 25 per cent in the final quarter of January-March).
According to the statistics, the internal revenue of three corporations is Rs5,975 crore. The combined salary expenditure is nearly Rs6,240 crore, which includes salary of employees, arrears and medical allowances.
According to former chief secretary of Delhi Rakesh Mehta, trifurcation of Municipal Corporation was a political decision. “The question arises what is guarantee of improvement of financial health if three Municipal Corporations are unified”, Mehta said.
Moreover, the corporation now has three mayors, three leader of the House and three leader of Opposition, for each of the corporation whereas one Mayor, one leader of the House and leader of Opposition sufficed previously for the entire corporation. “Now we have a chairman each for 27 committees of the councillors which has multiplied to three.” Meanwhile, with trifurcation, the corporation had to buy three-time more vehicles for all office holder as their manforce tripled.
Previously, a unified Municipal Corporation would have to manage one website but now they have to manage three separate ones. According to a RTI reply, the monthly expense for maintenance of e-Government project is Rs1 crore per month and which goes up to Rs12 crore annually. The three Municipal Corporations are splurging as much as Rs65 crore over the maintenance of their websites.
Other than this, the three Municipal Corporations conduct administration’s meetings including House meetings, Standing Committee meetings, ward meetings and official meetings. This has led to a hike in administration’s expenses. “The administration’s expenses could have cut down as the expenses of cars and meeting would have been much lesser,” said a source.
A senior bureaucrat, who had played a major in trifurcation of Municipal Corporation said then the Congress Government had trifurcated MCD to get political mileage in the municipal elections and this has backfired.