Atishi creating confusion over budget allocation to Delhi: BJP

New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday accused Delhi minister Atishi of creating confusion about budget allocation to the national capital by the Centre and asserted that adequate funds had been provided to the city government.

"Atishi knows that her government's own budget for 2023-24 was Rs 78,800 crore, whereas, in the same year, Rs 79,032 crore was spent by Centre Government in Delhi in only 24 items," Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva claimed.

He said that Atishi, the finance minister of Delhi, is well aware of all the expenditures made by the Central Government, yet she is creating confusion.

In addition to the Rs 79,032 crore, Sachdeva shared that the Central government has provided FAME buses worth hundreds of crores of rupees to Delhi, along with significant funds under various schemes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid Day Meal, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and Namami Gange.

He further elaborated on the Central Government's direct expenditure in Delhi for the year 2023-24, which includes Rs 12,000 crore on Delhi Police, Rs 9,800 crore on Metro, Rs 9,283 crore on RRTS, Rs 8,000 crore on NHAI, Rs 3,000 crore on Indian Railways, and Rs 4,401.35 crore on the pension of Delhi Government employees.

Additionally, Rs 2,603 crore was allocated for Delhi University, Rs 4,134 crore for AIIMS Delhi, and Rs 1,826 crore for Safdarjung Delhi, he said.

Delhi Finance Minister Atishi on Friday demanded Rs 10,000 crore from the Centre for infrastructure development, claiming that the city government received nothing in return over the past year despite its income tax contribution of Rs 2 lakh crore.

Delhi also provided Rs 25,000 crore as central GST to the pool of taxes, she said.