NEW DELHI: After the Delhi High Court on Monday conveyed its displeasure to the Delhi government over allocation of funds to civic bodies, the BJP which is in power in three municipal corporations, launched a full-blown attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal. Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said that the court’s scathing remarks is a victory of residents of the national capital and municipal employees, who have been fighting for their dues.
Gupta also sought to take credit of the court observation and said, “This is the result of our protest on this issue since past few months that now the court has agreed that in such difficult times the Kejriwal government has not done right by not releasing the corporation employees’ money.” The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said that Kejriwal should stop playing the ‘victim card’ on the issue of amendments to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act because the changes had been carried out to end ‘misuse’ of powers by the AAP government and to fast track the wheels of administration and justice.
Bidhuri said that Kejriwal had been presenting himself as a victim in front of the farmers and misleading them by stating that he had to face the ire of the central government as he supported their agitation. He was referring to the Delhi CM’s address at a rally in Jind. “The reality is that till date neither the farmers of Delhi have got any kind of minimum support prices (MSP) support for their crop from the Delhi government nor has the promised Rs 200 crore for the welfare of the farmers being earmarked or spent,” Bidhuri added.
On the other hand, senior AAP MLA Atishi alleged that BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation had done a Rs 1,400 crores property tax scam. “In 2017, it collected property tax from 5.75 lakh properties whereas in 2020 it collected property tax from only 4.25 lakh properties,” she said. Atishi said the NDMC hired an agency in 2017 to survey the number of properties and it was found there were over 12 lakh properties that had to pay property tax. “When a survey of 12 lakh properties has been conducted, then why has property tax been collected from roughly one-third of that number?” she asked.
Atishi said this “scam worth crores” had been running in the NDMC for years. She added that property tax worth Rs 2,000 crore should have been collected if one goes by the 12-lakh-plus figure. “Where is the balance of Rs 1,400 crore?” she asked