By IANS,
New Delhi: The Delhi government Monday sanctioned Rs.1,500 crore for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and asked the civic body to spend the amount judiciously.
The decision was taken by Delhi Finance Minister A.K. Walia after a MCD delegation led by Mayor P.R. Sawhney met him to apprise that the civic body was facing a huge cash crunch and struggling to pay the salaries of its employees.
Of the sanctioned amount, Rs.500 crore is to be recovered from the MCD in three years.
Asking the MCD to treat the amount as a stimulator to improve the financial health of the body, Walia said an amount of Rs.100 crore is an extra grant for education and health, while Rs.900 crore is being released as early instalments.
An official said the delegation asked for sanction of an additional plan fund of Rs.597 crore for roads, education, medical and community centres, an allocation of Rs.1,286 crore as compensation for the loss of collection of property tax due to implementation of Unit Area Method.
They also requested a special grant of Rs.600 crore for education and a financial assistance of Rs.1,000 crore in the form of wage and means loans besides a grant of Rs.50 crore for rural development, the official added.
MCD Commissioner K.S. Mehra, standing committee chairman Yogendra Chandolia, civic body house leader Subhash Arya were also present in the meeting.