Kejriwal Government Should have passed Resolution in House Against MCD Merger Issue: Congress

Congress has blamed that Chief Minister Arvind did not condemn the unification of the MCDs in his speech in the Delhi Assembly. Party has said that the Arvind Government should have passed a resolution in the House against the MCD merger, and sent it to the Union Government, and wondered what would be the stand of the AAP MLAs when the Bill is put to vote in Parliament.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ch. Anil Kumar said that the Modi Government  has brought in a Bill in the Lok Sabha to merge the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi without specifying how the fund crunch in the MCD would be addressed, how timely payment of the salaries and pending arrears of the MCD employees would be ensured, and how the development works of Delhi, in a limbo for the past 15 years, would be put back on rails. He said that the Modi Government should have called an all-party meeting to discuss the fallout of the MCD merger before taking a unilateral decision.

Ch. Anil Kumar said that the Modi Government’s argument for the unifications of the MCDs was to ensure better governance of the Corporations, as the past 15 years had witnessed unprecedented corruption and incompetence in the MCDs, and the Corporations’ plight got worsened when the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Delhi eight years ago, as it delayed and held back the funds due to the MCDs for the payment of salaries and development works. 

He said that MCD has not yet implemented the recommendations of the fourth and fifth Finance Commissions as presently, the income generated by the MCDs can meet only 70 per cent of its expenses,  and the Bill does not clarify how the 30 per cent shortfall in the MCD income would be met, which will keep alive the shadow boxing between the BJP and the Arvind Government  on the issue of funds. He said that the main purpose of the MCD merger was to take full control of the Corporation under the Central Government, and remote-control its functioning, whether the BJP was in power or not at the MCD.