Pre-empting possible criticism when dengue, malaria and chikungunya cases rise during the monsoon, the Delhi government on Wednesday said it had given the municipal corporations funds for their vector-control programmes.
Official document
According to an official document of the government, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation had been given ₹32.86 crore of the total ₹131.45 crore in grants for 2017-2018 as on May 12 as the first instalment.
Of that, ₹11.50 crore was meant to be used for vector-control programme, the government clarified to the corporation recently.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation had been given ₹18.38 crore out of the total ₹73.50 crore in grants for this financial year. Of this, ₹8.38 crore was meant for vector-control activities.
Struggling financially
Of ₹42.50 crore in grants for this financial year, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, which has been struggling financially for years now, was given ₹10.63 crore. Of this, ₹4.65 crore was for vector-control.
First instalment
A senior government official said the funds had been transferred to the civic bodies in first instalment of grants, but it had been made clear recently to the corporations about how much the specific grant for the vector-control programme was.
Public interest litigation
The official added that in 2015, when the number of dengue cases set a new record at 15,867, the government had faced a public interest litigation that alleged that the funds for controlling mosquitoes had not been transferred to the civic bodies.
While the civic bodies are tasked with the responsibility to control vector-borne diseases, the spread of diseases in the past two years has given the Aam Aadmi Party government and the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled corporations another thing to fight about.
