The slugfest over the eight-day-long strike by the sanitation staff of municipal bodies in the national Capital refused to subside on Wednesday as the offer of a loan to the corporations by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did not go down well with them.
Kejriwal, who is in Bengaluru for naturopathy treatment, offered a loan of Rs551 crore to North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) to enable the two to pay salaries to their employees till January 31.
Of the Rs551-crore loan, Rs314 crore was to be given to NMC while Rs237 crore was to go to EDMC. Besides, Rs142 crore was being offered to NMC as Stamp Duty payment. Thus, a total of Rs693 crore was being released by the Delhi Government.
However, Kejriwal’s offer was rebuffed by the two corporations and the striking employees, who reacted strongly to it. They said the measure announced by the Chief Minister was temporary and did not solve the problems faced by them.
“What after January 31” was the general refrain as the employees, including doctors, nurses, teachers and contractors, refused to call off the strike.
NMC and EDMC said they did not want a loan but a grant-in-aid to bail them out as their financial health was so abysmal that they could not repay the loan.
“Why does the Kejriwal Government not give us grant-in-aid to bail out the corporations. The corporations require Rs5,800 crore just for the payment of salaries. Then why is the Government talking about providing a loan instead of directly releasing the required fundsIJ” Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said.
Earlier in the day, before holding a Press conference in Bengaluru, Kejriwal had tweeted that he had a “solution” to the ongoing crisis in Delhi, which had raised a lot of hope. However, all hope of an end to the crisis ended as soon as the Chief Minister unveiled his plan.
“This is a loan. The Delhi Government does not owe the municipal bodies even a single rupee. The BJP’s claims are false,” he said.
Kejriwal read out a series of figures to prove that there was widespread embezzlement in the municipal corporations.
“An impression is being created that Delhi Government is responsible for the financial mess in the corporations that have been ruled by BJP for last ten years. We have paid NMC Rs 893 crore this year. That’s almost double the amount they received in previous years. If they can pay salaries in Rs 550 crore, then why can’t they do so nowIJ Where is the rest of the moneyIJ As my deputy Manish Sisodia says there has been a major salary scam. Money has been stolen. House tax revenue, toll tax, advertising revenue, electricity tax everything has been stolen. It is a classic case of financial mismanagement,” he said.
Kejriwal went on to demand a CBI enquiry. “If the CBI could probe us, then why not the MCDsIJ We had ordered inspection of accounts of the civic bodies but they refused to cooperate,” he said.
“The Modi Government has dictatorial tendencies. Someone told me they are trying to create a situation to impose President’s Rule in Delhi the way they imposed it in Arunachal Pradesh,” the Chief Minister said. later, taking a dig at Kejriwal, Delhi Congress president and former Union Minister Ajay Maken tweeted: “Now when Delhi Stinks, Kejriwal gives Rs 550 cr loan. We gave Rs 1,000 cr loan in 2012-13. No Strike! No Stink! No Drama & Fuss. look at these Budget Papers! Ways&Means A/c- Congress Regime-2012-13 Rs1 000 Cr- AAP Regime- 2015-16 Rs1Cr- A JokeIJ”
Kejriwal’s announcement of providing a loan to civic bodies followed a letter written to him and Sisodia by lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung in which he had reportedly said that the ongoing strike had created an “emergency like” situation. Jung had said the strike could lead to a serious law and order problem and had requested the CM to take a humanitarian approach and provide conditional loan to the municipal bodies to pay salaries to their employees.
Exuding confidence about winning next year’s municipal polls, Kejriwal said the situation in the municipal corporations was such that they should be dissolved and fresh elections held immediately. He said the joint front of 19 unions of municipal employees had called for dissolution of the civic bodies and bringing them under Delhi Government.
“Employees have lost their faith in the corporations. Doctors have written to us seeking that their services be transferred to the Delhi Government. I have asked Sisodia to examine the proposal.” he said.