After Kejriwal held up release of corporation funds, adding to the pile of garbage in city, municipal councilors meet BJP leaders to see direct funding of corporations so that they can do their job properly.
The AAP versus the BJP tussle is playing out in the municipal corporations too, which have decided to move the central government to get their funds released from the Delhi government. The financial turmoil in the three municipal corporations (EDMC, NDMC and SDMC) has held up most of the development work and even maintenance work in the city, after the Delhi government refused to release funds citing corruption and misuse of money. The corporations are also finding it difficult to pay the wages and salaries of safai karmacharis because of the denial of funds.
Which is why, the corporations have decided to move the Urban Development Ministry and have met all the seven Delhi MPs and urged them to evolve a system of direct financial support from the centre for the corporations. The issue is also likely to be raised by the Delhi MPs in Parliament, that sits for Monsoon Session from July 17.
Vipin Singh, a Councillor from Mayur Vihar area and Deputy Mayor, East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) told City Spidey that this decision was taken after Delhi government refused to release pending funds. “We met chief minister Arvind Kejriwal last week and requested him to release pending funds to distribute monthly wages of lower rung official and safai karmies. He instantly refused, alleging that MCDs are involved in huge corruption. Kejriwal claimed that the Delhi government had the power to investigate the corrupt practices within the MCDs. But the government had stopped releasing funds instead of investigating allegations of corruption that it makes,” Vipin Singh said.
Delhi BJP president and North-East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari has promised to raise the issue in the Monsoon session of Parliament, Vipin Singh said adding “he was very receptive to our troubles when we had met him for two hours, the day before.”
Vipin Singh said the corporations were facing flak from the people, the central government and the courts to improve civic amenities. “But continuing financial crunch has paralyzed the functioning.No workers, regular or contractual, are willing to work. We need to pay their monthly wages on time to get the work done, even from Safai karamcharis. Which is not happening now,” Vipin Singh said.
The mounting garbage in the city is visible to all and the corporations are getting fired by the green tribunal as well as the courts. Recently, Delhi High Court has slammed all three MCDs for their failure on garbage management issue.
There are two faces of garbage management in the city.
The first, under New Delhi Municipal Council, covers just four per cent area of the city while 96 per cent area is managed by three municipal corporations. This 96 percent area generates around 10000 tonnes of garbage every day. Of these, East Delhi alone generates around 2500 tonnes garbage every day.
So, now the problem needs to be addressed on an emergency basis and on war footing. But with AAP government playing politics, it is the citizens of Delhi who are suffering, the Mayur Vihar councilor said.
