Mayors, councillors of 3 corporations protest outside Delhi Assembly

Mayors and councillors of the three BJP-led municipal corporations of Delhi Wednesday held a demonstration outside the Assembly, protesting against the "cut in MCD funds" in the budget, officials said.

North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta said the Delhi government has fixed an amount of Rs 6,380 crore for three corporations in the budget of 2019-20, which is "Rs 510 crore less than the sum allocated in the previous financial year".

He said instead of increasing the funds every year, the dispensation was "deducting" the same.

Gupta along with South Delhi Mayor Narender Chawla, East Delhi Mayor Bipin Bihari Singh and BJP councillors of all the three civic bodies demonstrated at the Vidhan Sabha against the "cut" in funds for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), officials said.

During the demonstration, they demanded the AAP-led government to "release the outstanding dues of the corporations".

Gupta claimed the government "did not issue arrears due to the north corporation despite a court order".

Even the Fifth Delhi Finance Commission's recommendations have not been accepted in totality, he said.

"The Delhi government has money to spend on advertisements to mislead the public, but there is no money to give to corporations for development works for the benefit of citizens of the city," the North Delhi mayor added.