The Capital’s cash-strapped North and East Delhi municipal corporations will be given a greater share of funds till 2021 as the Delhi government has accepted most of the recommendations of the Fifth Delhi Finance Commission, the Delhi Assembly was told on Thursday.
Tabling the report of the 5th DFC in the House, Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain also presented the explanatory memorandum on the action taken on the recommendations. Covering a period of five financial years from 2016 to 2021, the 5th DFC’s recommendation of devolution of 12.5% of taxes to the civic bodies was accepted by the government, Mr. Jain said. This, he said, was an increase from the 10.5% share mandated by the third DFC.
Mr. Jain also presented the action-taken report of the 4th DFC saying that the Centre had rejected it, so the Delhi government could not implement it.
“In any case the Delhi government has already released more funds [ranging between 14% and 17% of the net tax collection which includes funds released for plan projects/schemes under UD, health and education] than what has been recommended by the [4th DFC]...,” the action-taken report stated.
Mr. Jain said the government had also decided not to recover the additional amount given to the corporations for the period of the 4th DFC, which was from 2011-2012 to 2015-2016.
Of the total 171 recommendations of the 5th DFC, Mr. Jain said 88 had been accepted by the government, 20 that related to devolution of funds were accepted after amendments, 13 were left to the civic bodies to decide upon, 17 were sent to committees and 29 were rejected.
Under the framework suggested by the 5th DFC, the basic tax assignment for civic bodies would be divided into two parts — the first to be shared by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in a ratio of 65:35 to meet their revenue deficit and the second to be shared equally by all five civic bodies of Delhi.
BJP hits out
The Opposition BJP, which is in power in the three municipal corporations of Delhi, however, hit out against the AAP government. Leader of the Opposition Vijender Gupta said the Delhi government had “played a big fraud on Delhiites in its apparent acceptance of the 5th DFC’s report”.
He said the government had misrepresented facts by saying the share of the municipal corporations had gone up from 10.5% to 12.5%, when, according to him, it had fallen from 17%.
