JOIN USDelhi demands bigger slice of tax pie
“It is high time that Delhi should be treated like a full fledged state to enable it to get its due share in the central tax collection,” said chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday.
She demanded an increase in Delhi’s share in the central budget allocation.
Dikshit added that the share of Delhi in central tax collection has been frozen at Rs 320 crore per annum for the last 10 years. The city has sustained the growth from its own resources. “Presently, our budget is around Rs 33,000 crore which is mostly being met through our internal resources.
The requirements and challenges in Delhi have gone up enormously,” said Dikshit. “Ours is the only city in the country, which is supposed to upgrade itself according to international standards.” said Dikshit in a meeting of chief ministers of north zone states, chaired by Union finance minister P Chidambaram.
She added that migration from other states have caused a rapid increase in the population of Delhi, which puts pressure on all its services and amenities.
The Centre, especially Union finance ministry, must provide sympathetic consideration to the Capital’s financial needs. The CM said her government is moving towards direct cash transfer in respect of all its social sector schemes.
“The city government has been facilitating beneficiaries in opening their no-frill accounts in banks to ensure direct cash transfer to their accounts,” the CM said. She demanded support of the finance ministry and banks in this regard.
“The government has earmarked 65 per cent of its budget allocation for social schemes. It is all set to offer benefits worth Rs 1,500 crore through electronic benefit transfer.” said Dikshit. At least 30 lakh people will be its beneficiaries, she added.
The meeting was hosted by the city government where chief ministers of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand, finance minister of Punjab and deputy chairperson (planning board) of Uttar Pradesh were present.