Delhi govt to seek Rs 5,200 crore for MCD from Centre

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday said the MCD, like other urban local bodies, should get grants from the Centre and that he will write to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking Rs 5,200 crore for the civic body.

At a press conference here with Mayor Shelly Oberoi, the urban development minister said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) needs central grants to develop infrastructure like drains and roads.

Urban local bodies of cities in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, among other states, get grants from the Centre, Bharadwaj said.

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“Delhi is the national capital. Like other urban local bodies, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi should also get grants from the Centre.

“The MCD should ideally get a grant of over Rs 5,200 crore from the Centre. I will write to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on this,” he said.

Explaining the reasoning behind the amount, Bharadwaj said, “The urban local bodies across the country received Rs 1.21 lakh crore in grants from the Centre in the last five years. According to the 2011 Census, the total urban population in the country is 37.7 crore.”

“Going by these numbers, the urban local bodies (in other states) received Rs 3,211 per person from the Centre.

“Similarly, Delhi’s urban population stands at 1.63 crore, according to the Census. Therefore, Delhi should get Rs 5,243 crore for its urban local body. This is the MCD’s right, it is not any special treatment,” he said.

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Bharadwaj urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give the MCD its share of grants for undertaking infrastructural development, especially for roads and drains.

The AAP-led MCD has been facing flak due to widespread waterlogging in Delhi amid the ongoing monsoon season which has claimed several lives.