Mayors of three MCDs demand funds from DyCM

The Mayors of three MCDs today met the Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and discussed the issues related with various pending funds claimed by the municipal bodies from the Delhi Government.
The Mayors of BJP ruled North South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations expressed their reservations about the outcome of the meeting saying that "mere assurances" were not going to solve the financial crises faced by the civic bodies.
The Mayors accompanied by Commissioners of the three municipal corporations also handed over documents and papers in support of their demand for payment of pending funds running into several thousand crores.
Mayor of East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) Harshdeep Malhotra said "the meeting with Deputy CM took place in cordial atmosphere and he assured to seriously look into our demands of releasing funds."

"We claimed immediate release of Rs 625 crore including property tax dues of Rs 225 crore from Sisodia. He said that efforts will be made to process the Municipal Reforms Funds worth Rs 300 crore," Malhotra said.
The Deputy CM along with senior officials of Delhi Government met the Mayors and municipal corporation officers separately, each meeting lasting about one hour.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation(NDMC) provided details of the pending funds owed by Delhi Government in the meeting with Sisodia and he "assured" to look into it, North Delhi Mayor Ravinder Gupta said.
"Only assurances can not solve the problems faced by the municipal corporations since Delhi Government for the past many years had been obstructing release of funds to them due to political reasons," he added.

South Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Subhash Arya also met the Deputy CM and raised several issues including implementation of Finance Commission recommendations.
Sisodia also discussed the ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure of the civic bodies during the meetings.
This is second meeting of the Mayors with the Deputy CM following the sanitation workers strike. Thousands of sanitation workers, mostly in EDMC, went on strike from October 23, demanding regular salary and arrear payment, cashless health cards and regularisation of contractual workers from the cash strapped civic bodies.