Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, demanding that Delhi’s shares in Central taxes be raised in view of its burgeoning population.
“Delhi has the character of a ‘State’ and there is a strong case for treating it at par with other States for the purpose of share of Central taxes” and grants to its local bodies through recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission,” he said.
“The transfer of grants in lieu of share in Central taxes has remained stagnant at ₹325 crore per annum since 2000,” the letter read.
‘Inadvertent omission’
He said that due to the “inadvertent omission” of Article 270(3) of the Constitution, which deals with share of taxes between the Centre and the Union Territories, Delhi is missing out on “its legitimate share in Central taxes of at least ₹6,500 crore per annum”.
The Chief Minister said that the “unfortunate” omission of the constitutional provision in the year 2000 “resulted in an anomaly which has adversely affected the finances of the NCT of Delhi”.
Mr. Kejriwal said that as the Capital of the country and one of the fastest growing metropolises, Delhi’s claims on its resources are immense and varied.
The Chief Minister requested Mr. Shah and Ms. Sitharaman to look into the matter personally and “provide additional terms of reference to the 15th Finance Commission to enable” it to recommend the legitimate shares of Delhi in Central taxes.
