The House meeting of the North civic body on Tuesday was abruptly adjourned as Aam Admi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors disrupted proceedings over non-release of funds by the Delhi government.
Cry foul
“It has been six months since the High Court directed the Delhi government to release funds under the provisions of the Fourth Finance Commission but nothing has happened,” said one BJP councillor. “Why have we not filed contempt proceedings? Who is responsible for that?” she further asked.
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The Delhi government provides funds to the municipal corporations under the ‘plan head’ of the budget. However, all three corporations have been crying foul over large cuts in the money sent to the corporations this year.
BJP councillors cited an engineering department report, which stated that in 2017, ₹45,000 lakh were received from the State government under 12 budget heads. In 2018, however, no funds were allocated under the same categories.
Congress councillor Mukesh Goyel said that the issue was raised in an attempt to divert attention from the problem of waterlogging in the city.
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“If the issues would have been discussed in the House meeting, it would have exposed the work of both the BJP in the corporations and the AAP in the Delhi government,” he said.
North civic body Mayor Adesh Gupta directed the commissioner to find out who is responsible for the delay in filing contempt proceedings and make arrangements to file contempt of court against the Delhi government within 24 hours.