Suspend civic bodies, hold fresh polls: CM

Second day of MCD workers' strike

Citing that the municipalities have failed to pay salaries to their employees, the Delhi government on Thursday demanded suspension of the three municipal corporations and sought fresh elections to extricate them from their financial woes.

The Delhi BJP unit said the government’s stand exposes its evil intentions as AAP government deliberately created financial crisis for the municipalities eyeing the 2017 civic elections.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “Management of an organization, which can’t pay salaries to employees, doesn’t hv rt to continue. MCD shud be dissolved. Hold fresh elections.”

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia echoed similar concerns.
“Delhi is seeing strike by MCD employees for the fourth time. It is extremely shocking that despite the Delhi government having provided the three MCDs all the funds meant for payment of salaries before time, salaries have not been paid to the employees,” said Sisodia.

When asked why the corporations have been clamouring for funds then, he said, “They  are doing politics over garbage. They are throwing garbage outside my house and office. If you get salary by littering outside my office, you can pile up a heap of garbage. But it will serve no purpose, people are suffering,” he added.

Sisodia attacked the MCDs for wasteful expenditure.
“The government has given all the funds it is supposed to give to the corporations, even before time. Where has the money gone? The BJP’s elected leaders should answer it. Mayors of the three corporations of Delhi owe an answer to the people of Delhi on where have the funds, provided to them by the Delhi government, for payment of salaries of MCD employees disappeared?” added Sisodia.

The North Corporation Mayor Ravinder Gupta said that the Chief Minister had “lost his mental balance”.

“He shouldn’t have gone to Bengaluru for treating his cough. He should rather visit Agra (mental institution),” said Gupta.

“I challenge the CM for an open debate so that I can publicly call the AAP government’s bluff of clearing the dues of the municipal corporations. What good is the MCD if they can’t pay salaries to their staff performing their primary function such as sanitation? ” he added.

According to Delhi government, the three corporations have themselves admitted to having received Rs 892.92 crore by North Corporation, Rs 465.53 crore for East Corporation and Rs 668 crore for South Corporation under the non-planned head for the current financial year, which will come to an end on 31 March.

“Why are the mayors scared of getting the accounts audited ? Why are they not revealing how much income they have generated from the sources of income under their control?” it said in a statement.

“Further, the outstanding loan amount of the three corporations, which they owe to the Delhi government is around Rs 6,000 crore. Given the financial condition of the three corporations, the Delhi government will not seek any repayment or part payment of this outstanding loan amount till further orders.”

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha Vijender Gupta said that the Kejriwal government’s real intentions have come to the fore.

“Its a deliberate and sustained strategy to create financial crisis in the three municipalities for politically ambitions. With an eye on 2017 municipal elections, it has found dubious means to starve civic bodies of funds so that it could exploit the situation to its political advantage,” he said.

“The Delhi government, has created the crisis motivated by political considerations. It is not born out of lack of funds to pay staff salaries and carry out other essential works.”