JOIN USOppn slams Budget, says it lacks vision
The opposition in all three municipal corporations on Thursday slammed budgetary allocation under the Swachh Bharat Mission for next financial year and called the BJP-ruled civic agencies’ sanitation drives a mere “photo op.”
The Congress also opposed the new taxes and the hike in property tax proposed in the Budget 2015-16.
While initiating the discussion on the Budget in South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Leader of Opposition Farhad Suri said there is no visible improvement in sanitation services.
Poor sanitation
“In fact, the court has been constrained to observe poor sanitation conditions and dubbed the city as dirty and referred to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan as a mere photo opportunity,” Suri said.
The corporation is grappling with the shortage of safai karamcharis, he added. “They are not being deployed (in different wards) according to the yardstick,” said Suri.Leader of Opposition in East Delhi Municipal Corporation Varyam Kaur said Budget 2015-16 lacks both “vision and mission”.
List of schemes
The Congress councillors also presented a list of schemes which the civic agencies have not been able to implement since 2012.
Leader of Opposition in North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mukesh Goel said the civic agency has failed to give pension to its employees.
“The corporation doesn’t even have money to give salaries to its staff,” Goel said.Leader of Opposition in South Corporation cornered the Commissioner on the issue of Municipal Reforms Funds.
“What is the position of Municipal Reforms Funds? You (the south civic agency) had raised the issue on page 23 of 2012-13 Budget speech,” Suri said.
“You have preferred to remain silent after that. Can you tell us what amount has been received under this head from the Delhi government,” he asked.
In December 2012, the civic agency had said the municipal solid waste contract was to expire in January 2014.
“The South Corporation said it was working on new tender. The tall claims made by the commissioner that the new contracts for solid waste disposal would incorporate the best practices, is yet to see the light of the day,” Suri said.
“In spite of a delay of more than a year, the new contracts are yet to be awarded,” he said.
The project of mechanical sweeping launched with “great fanfare” by the unified corporation, MCD, has been a great disappointment, he added.