BJP councillors plan stir

BJP councillors of the three civic bodies will stage a protest on Wednesday against the Delhi government for turning down their demand for financial assistance.

The decision comes after the Mayors of the BJP-ruled corporations met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday and asked for their share in city government’s taxes.

North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Yogender Chandolia said on Tuesday that the Delhi BJP had decided to protest outside the Secretariat as Kejriwal had “ignored” them.
“The corporations had asked for their share in taxes. But the Chief Minister did not cooperate,” said Chandolia.

Around 150 party councillors from the corporations will take part in the demonstration, he added.

The Chief Minister had asked the Mayors to seek centre’s help. But the Delhi BJP has decided to pursue the matter with the Delhi government.

The councillors will meet Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Wednesday and ask him to intervene, Chandolia said.

While all three corporations claim that the city government owes them hundreds of crores, the North and East civic bodies are facing a financial crunch.

The north civic agency needs Rs 171 crore a month to pay salaries for its over 70,000 employees.

“The corporation needs around Rs 2,100 crore annually just to disburse salaries. But we don’t have that kind of cash. We have managed to pay only 40 per cent of our employees and we don’t have money to pay salaries next month,” a North Corporation official said.
The civic agency was not able to pay pensions to the beneficiaries for over eight months. “Rs 1,200 is the lifeline of those people,” said Virender Babbar, a councillor from Paharganj.

The East Corporation requires over Rs 100 crore to pay salaries and pensions for its over 30,000 employees.