Alleging financial mismanagement by the BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation, Leader of the Opposition Mukesh Goel on Friday said that the opening balance of the civic body in 2015-16 was zero, which is in violation of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.
Speaking at a special budget meeting of the Standing Committee, Mr. Goel was responding to the budget for 2017-18 and the revised budget estimate for 2016-17 presented by Commissioner P. K. Gupta on December 5. Mr. Gupta had also presented the actual income and expenditure figures for 2015-6 that day.
‘Against the rules’
As per the actuals, the opening balance for 2015-16 was zero. Section 110 of the DMC Act states that the opening balance of the corporation cannot be below Rs.1 lakh. “The Commissioner must explain how the balance was shown as zero. The person responsible for this must be held responsible,” said Mr. Goel.
Interestingly, Mr. Goel said that the bank account statements of the corporation showed that there was Rs.21 crore as opening balance on April 1, 2015, pointing to discrepancies in the budget.
‘Development stalled’
“If there was no opening balance, how did the salaries of employees get paid on April 1,” asked Mr. Goel.
Mr. Goel went on to highlight that the Corporation had not been able to achieve its targets for revenue, whether in property tax collection or income from advertising. He said that as a result of low income, development works and the disbursement of pensions had suffered.
When it came to sanitation in North Delhi, Mr. Goel said that despite spending a lot as per the Swachh Bharat Mission on cleanliness, the situation was far from ideal.
