Not one rupee of the thousands of crores meant for the Swachh Bharat Mission for Urban Areas has made its way to Delhi’s municipalities, which are reeling under a financial crisis.
On September 24, 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet in which the sanitation programme for urban areas was approved. According to a post on the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s blog, the five-year programme would be implemented in all 4,041 statutory towns of India.
“The total expected cost of the programme over 5 years is Rs.62,009 crore, out of which the proposed Central assistance will be of Rs.14,623 crore,” said the Ministry.
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Though it was launched in the Capital at Red Fort, the Swachh Bharat Mission hasn’t brought any financial aid for Delhi’s struggling civic bodies.
Yogender Chandolia, the Leader of the House in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, admitted the funds for the massive sanitation programme hadn’t been released so far.
“We had had a meeting with Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu last year and he had told us that the corporations would get Rs.500 crore for strengthening sanitation,” said Mr. Chandolia.
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He added that he planned on writing to the Minister about the funds.
Meanwhile, officials say the delay can be chalked up to Delhi’s problems not fitting into the components under the Centre’s programme. All agencies were asked to submit proposals for projects by January under the components — individual household toilets, community toilets and solid waste management.
The three corporations have submitted their proposals, but talks are on about the details.
“Delhi doesn’t have the problem of insanitary latrines or manual scavenging in households like smaller towns. So, we have asked the Centre to give us more funds for public toilets and machinery under the other components,” said an official of the North Corporation.
For public toilets, the Centre has kept no funds, instead it suggested that municipalities get them constructed through PPP.
The North Corporation has proposed projects worth Rs.1,100 crore, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation has asked for about Rs.150 crore and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has drawn up proposals for Rs.280 crore.
The national initiative hasn’t brought financial aid for civic
bodies in the city