North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) officials met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday and demanded the corporation be given its “legitimate” finances as the civic body was struggling to make ends meet. Mayor of North Delhi Ravinder Gupta, along with Deputy Mayor Neelam Goyal and Chairman Standing Committee Mohan Bhardwaj, met Kejriwal at the CM office in Players Building and told him that financial crunch was hampering day-to-day services.
The NMC argued that the Delhi Government has no released its global share, which is being adjusted on account of outstanding loans. Bulks of these loans have been taken after trifurcation to meet the shortfall of NMC and carry an interest rate of 10.5 per cent to 11.5 per cent on cash-strapped NMC. “We (NMC) as a civic body want full autonomy, not dependency on the Delhi Government. And, that is why we need our money that is due from the Delhi Government over the years, which amounts to Rs1,550 crore, besides our global share,” North Delhi Mayor Ravinder Gupta said.