Finance Commission Chairman, N K Singh met with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia on Friday as they pushed for an increase in the national capital’s share in central taxes. Others in attendance for the meeting included Delhi chief secretary, Vijay Dev and finance secretary Renu Sharma
Arvind Kejriwal claimed there is a huge gap between Delhi’s contribution as income tax to the Centre and the amount it receives for its own development. Kejriwal pointed out that Delhi contributes Rs. 1.75 lakh crore as income tax to the Centre but only manages to receive Rs 325 crore for its own development.
“The Centre needs to invest more in Delhi in order to boost economic activities in the national capital,” he said.
Kejriwal informed the 15th Finance Commission chairman that the national capital has been subjected to “gross injustice” for the last two decades.
“Till the year 2000, our Constitution provided for money for Delhi that was on par with other states in the country.However, Delhi was removed from this list of after an amendment in the Constitution. The omission of article 270(3) resulted in the removal of Delhi which has adversely affected the finances of the NCT of Delhi,” Kejriwal said in an official statement.
As the national capital and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, numerous and diversified claims on its resources pose a challenge. While the Government of NCT in Delhi has to maintain the infrastructure that meets world standards, it also has to improve the amenities it provides to its citizenry which has grown exponentially over the years.
“Nothing can be done about the past but what happened was that the amount of money Delhi was getting from the Centre was siphoned. This injustice needs to be revised. All we ask is for the Finance Commission to give Delhi its due.” he added.