The Hindu : New Delhi News : Probe sought into `wasteful' expenditure by MCD panels

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 12, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Probe sought into `wasteful' expenditure by MCD panels

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JAN. 11. Alleging that the Hardship and Anomaly Committee and its preceding Municipal Valuation Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi had lavishly spent Rs. 5 crores in the past 18 months, the only Opposition member in the MCD Standing Committee, Vijender Kumar Gupta, today demanded inquiry into what he termed as wasteful expenditures by these committees.

"This is a case of clear cut misuse of public money. I have access to documents that reveal that the Hardship Committee and Valuation Committee have spend Rs. 1 lakh on an average per day," he alleged. "Accounts of both these committees should now be audited," he demanded.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Gupta accused the Hardship and Anomaly Committee for the financial mess of the Corporation. "It is due to the irrational and unscientific concession given by these committees that too under political pressure, that revenue collection of the MCD has dropped sharply," he alleged.

Referring to figures collected from the House Tax Department, he said the MCD has so far collected only Rs. 478 crores including Rs. 153 crores till January 10 against a target of Rs. 12,000 crores. Till December 10, the house tax collection was of just Rs. 453 crores.

Mr. Gupta said because of the series of concessions and rebates, the MCD was now facing the daunting task of refunding Rs. 150 crores to as many as 2.5 lakh property owners of the Capital. "So far MCD has not come out with refund policy. The citizens are now queuing up before house tax counters to get the refund," he claimed.

Refuting the charges, the only political member in the Hardship Committee, Sanjay Puri, the Congress Councillor from Janak Puri, said: "I would resign, if the charges by Mr. Gupta are proved correct."

Mr. Puri claimed that the annual budget of the Hardship Committee as approved by the Standing Committee was Rs. 70 lakhs, including Rs. 12 lakhs for study trip. "It is unlikely that we would spent the entire amount," he said. "It is within this budget that we are paying Rs. 1 lakh per month as rent for the Committee's office at India Habitat Centre," he said.

Stating that the task of the Committee was to provide relief to the property owners of the Capital, he claimed that the decline in revenue collection was because of the lacunae at the part of the House Tax Department. "We have done a commendable job. We have suggested several innovative measures and provided relief to lakhs of residents of the Capital," he claimed.

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