The Indian Express 08.08.2013
Corporation demands hike in share from UT’s revenue pot, release of arrears
P S Bhatnagar during a meeting at Sector 17, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. Jasbir Malhi
The Municipal Corporation has demanded that its share in the revenue earned by the Administration be increased from 17.5% to 30% with an increase of 5% every year. It has also demanded release of grant-in-aid to the tune of around Rs 500 crore which is pending with the UT Administration for many years.
These issues were taken up for discussion at a meeting of the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission today. The members of the commission as well as officials of the Administration emphasised upon the need to impose more taxes on city residents, but this was opposed by elected representatives.
UT Adviser K K Sharma as well as Home Secretary Anil Kumar stressed upon the need for the MC to generate its own resources and impose taxes on city residents. It was stated that a balance needs to be maintained between the resources required and the demands of the people.
Mayor Subhash Chawla said that the Finance Commission should review the share of MC and panchayats keeping in view the taxes that are collected from the people. "In 1996 when the MC was constituted 12 per cent share in the taxes was allocated. By the time of the third finance commission this was increased to 7 per cent. As many as 30 per cent services in the city are performed by the MC. More departments have been transferred. There is a need for increasing the share in the taxes," he said. He added, "In 2011-12 the Administration collected Rs 1,572 crore as revenue. In the current financial year this should increase to Rs 2000 crore. Of this, 30 per cent share or Rs 600 crore should be given to MC."
It was further said that while money was being allocated in the annual budget to be received as grant-in-aid from the Administration, the Municipal Corporation has not received around Rs 500 crore over the past several years. Several villages have been added to the MC and more funds were demanded for their development. Of the Rs 2,600 crore spent by MC, Rs 1,600 crore has been received as grant-in-aid, while the remaining Rs 1000 crore has been spent by MC from its own resources.
Councillor Arun Sood also raised the demand for an increase in the share in revenue collected by the Administration. He stated that the MC has already imposed all kinds of taxes. The House Tax is already under review. No further burden should be imposed on the residents, he said.
'Transfer more functions to MC'
"The responsibility to ensure that water does not accumulate on the roads lies with the Municipal Corporation. However, we cannot ensure that the mosquitoes that breed in that water are killed as the malaria department is with the Administration and our pleas are not heard."
This narrative by Councillor Arun Sood in a meeting with the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission highlighted the anomalies that prevail in the distribution of functions between the UT Administration and the Municipal Corporation.
More than 17 years after the MC was constituted, the division of departments between the MC and Administration continues to cause problems in functioning. Further, the functions specified in the Municipal Act too have not been transferred to the MC. Even those functions that have been transferred have been done in a partial manner leading to ambiguities. In its representation to the Finance Commission, MC has stated that it has not been assigned all of the 18 functions enlisted in the 12th schedule of the Constitution. One of the reasons being financial handicap. Three years back several functions were transferred to the MC from the Administration. These included primary schools, primary health centres, landscaping, augmentation of water supply and additional roads to MC. However, the staff of the schools and health centres still report to the Administration.
UT Adviser K K Sharma said that the legal process for handing over charge of the departments that have been transferred is going on. The salaries for the staff deployed in these departments are being paid by the Administration. Mayor Subhash Chawla said that the Administration has transferred just 15 per cent of the functions mentioned in the 74th amendment. Some functions that were given to the Administration have been taken back.
The councillors were of the opinion that social functions should be transferred to MC. Among the functions mentioned in the Municipal Act that could be transferred to the MC are public vaccination and inoculation, regulation of offensive or dangerous trades or practices, securing or removal of dangerous buildings, maintenance of monuments and preparation of plans for economic development to name a few.
It was stated that the expenditure incurred by the Municipal Corporation was less than the revenue generated. For 2012-13, for the staff of the existing departments the expenditure on salary was Rs 155.55 crore, while revenue was Rs 143.77 crore. Similarly the expenditure on sanitation was Rs 79 crore while revenue earned was Rs 2.29 crore.
