Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia seek to dissolve civic bodies

Two AAP leaders call for fresh elections

In a significant development, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia have urged the Central government to dissolve the BJP-led three municipal corporations and order fresh elections in all the 272 wards in the national capital. Soon after the AAP leaders made their views public through their respective tweets, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta reacted that the two had made it amply clear that they were deliberately holding back funds of the civic bodies to take political advantage in the 2017 municipal elections.

The standoff started on Wednesday with the employees of the three municipal bodies going on strike and demanding immediate release of their salaries and allowances. While the BJP councillors claimed that the municipal bodies were unable to disburse salaries as the AAP government had not released funds, the city administration said the dues of all three bodies had been released well on time, except 20 per cent funds to South Delhi Municipal Corporation, which, they claimed, would be released within 10 days.

Mr Gupta claimed that the AAP government was deliberately not releasing funds to create a financial crisis and gain political mileage during the municipal polls.

Mr Kejriwal’s tweet seeking dissolution of the three municipal bodies is being interpreted in the political circles as an attempt by the AAP to prepare ground for the forthcoming municipal elections. The three municipal bodies can be dissolved only after the city Cabinet makes its recommendation to the Union government.

Of late, the three municipal bodies have hogged the limelight for wrong reasons. Except for the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, both East and North Delhi municipal bodies have time and again failed to pay salaries to their employees. Ever since the trifurcation of the MCD in May 2012, the two civic bodies have been struggling to meet day-to-day expenses, main reason for which is attributed to politically-motivated trifurcation of the MCD, rampant corruption, poor financial management and step-motherly treatment being meted to them by the Kejriwal government.

Former MCD commissioner and Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta said the city government should immediately release funds to the three municipal bodies so that their day-to-day work is not affected. He said that the government has not analysed the impact of trifurcation till date. “When trifurcation took place, there was an understanding that the city government would extend financial support to the East and North municipal bodies for a period of at least 10 years.” Some municipal councillors claim that the Delhi government was withholding Rs 3,000 crore as recommended by the Third Finance Commission to the three civic agencies. “This money should be immediately released to end the ongoing financial crisis of these agencies,” a municipal councillor told this newspaper. The officials said that after the trifurcation, the three municipal bodies have not been able to increase their revenue as property tax has not been increased for over the past 10 years. A senior officer said: “On one hand, expenses have gone up, on the other hand revenue has not increased. So, in such a situation how can one expect the municipal bodies to meet their day-to-day expenses.”

The other reason being cited by some experts for fund shortage in the municipal bodies is lack of political will of some parties to run these agencies in an efficient manner.

The trifurcation of the MCD, which serves 95 per cent of Delhi’s land area and has been providing services to 98 per cent of its population, was done because the then chief minister Sheila Dikshit wanted to control the civic agency. From mere 136 wards, the MCD was trifurcated into 272 municipal wards. North and South municipal bodies now have 104 wards each and East Delhi corporation has just 64 wards. Both North and South corporations have 26 Assembly seats each, as against East which is left with just 16.

When the trifurcation took place, the BJP had opposed it tooth and nail. But the BJP surprised all by wresting control of all the three bodies. With the emergence of the AAP in the Assembly elections, both the Congress and the BJP are devising strategies on how to checkmate the newbie party in the 2017 municipal elections.

The Kejriwal government has time and again targeted the three municipal bodies for not providing efficient civic amenities in the city. The chief minister had even alleged that the three bodies had become a den of corruption as a result of which they were unable to meet their own expenses.

Mr Kejriwal tweeted that the management of an organisation which cannot pay salaries to its employees does not have right to continue. “MCD should be dissolved,” he tweeted on Wednesday. The AAP government has shown little interest in conducting the byelections in 13 wards which have fallen vacant. With Mr Kejriwal’s demand to dissolve the municipal bodies, there are indications that the BJP too may pitch in for a united corporation.