'CM spends crores on his publicity, but doesn't have funds for MCDs'

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal spends crores on self-promotion, but the AAP government does not have funds to bring the corporations out of the red, said Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken on Wednesday.

A delegation of Congress councillors, led by Maken met Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Wednesday to discuss the depleting financial condition of the three corporations.

“Kejriwal puts out his ads on FM radio after every song, and shows ads with Kejriwal’s back to the camera on television by spending crores of rupees out of the huge sum of Rs 526 crore the AAP government has earmarked for its publicity campaign. But the AAP government does not have funds to help the MCDs. As a result development work in Delhi have come to a grinding halt.” a DPCC said

“The LG assured the delegation that he would take up the issues raised in their memorandum with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, including implementation of the recommendations of the fourth Finance Commission,” a DPCC said in a statement.

Maken said Kejriwal had been saying the Delhiites and the three corporations were suffering due to his differences with the BJP-led central government. Maken added that whenever the financial condition of the MCDs worsened, the Delhi government had given grant-in-aids to them to tide over their crises.

The corporations have been cash-strapped so much so that they have not given salaries to sanitation workers, teachers, doctors,  nurses and employees for the past couple of months. “As a result, these employees have to come out on the streets to fight for their just rights by holding dharnas and demonstrations.”

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation has a deficit of Rs 1,900 crore, and its employees have not been paid their salaries for many months.

The corporations have not been able to give pensions to widows, old people and handicapped for the past many months.