Union Budget betrayed Delhi again not even a penny as share in central taxes Atishi

     New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) The Union Budget has once again "betrayed" the people of the national capital, Delhi Finance Minister Atishi said on Tuesday, asserting that despite paying over Rs 2 lakh crore in taxes to the BJP-led Centre, the city government did not get even a single penny as its share in central taxes.
     Addressing a press conference here, Atishi said Delhi had demanded a budgetary allocation for both the city government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) but it did not get even a single rupee from the Centre in lieu of its tax contribution.
    "Today's budget presented by the BJP's Central government in Parliament proved to be a betrayal for the people of Delhi. This is a budget that dashes the hopes and aspirations of the people of Delhi," Atishi said.
     "Like every time, the BJP-ruled central government did not give the people of Delhi their due,” she added.
     "Delhi is the growth engine of the country. It pays more than Rs 2 lakh crore in income tax to the Centre and Rs 25,000 crore as central GST," the minister said.
     "Despite paying Rs 2.32 lakh crore in taxes to the Centre, Delhi was asking for just Rs 20,000 crore, which is just 0.4 per cent of the Union Budget. But no money was given as its share in central taxes or to the MCD," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader added.
     She said even last year, the people of Delhi paid Rs 2.07 lakh crore in income tax to the Centre "from their hard-earned money".
     Atishi alleged that the BJP and the Union government have done nothing for Delhi in 11 years and asserted that the Budget proves the BJP-led Centre will continue to neglect Delhi despite having both power and resources.
     Atishi said the city government had urged for an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore, which is 5 per cent of its tax contribution to the central pool, in the Union Budget. An additional Rs 10,000 crore (5 per cent) was demanded for the MCD for improving cleanliness and beautification.
     Overall, the people of Delhi were demanding only Rs 20,000 crore, which is only 10 per cent of the Rs 2.32 lakh crore taxes paid by the city to the central pool, and 0.4 per cent of this fiscal year's budget of Rs 48 lakh crore. Despite this, both the Delhi government and the MCD did not get a single rupee for their contribution, she claimed.
     Atishi pointed out that the Centre allotted share in central taxes to other states but not Delhi.
     It is "clearly written" in the budget document that in the "devolution of status share in tax, Rs 1.24 lakh crore has been given to different states", she said, adding, "But the people of Delhi did not get even Re 1 of that share."
     Similarly, Rs 82,207 crore has been allocated to different local bodies, both urban and rural, but the MCD did not get a single rupee, she added.
     She challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to "show even one thing done for Delhi in the last 11 budgets presented by its government at the Centre".
     "This is the model of the BJP. On the other side is Arvind Kejriwal's government which gets only Rs 40,000 crore in taxes annually, whose power has been snatched away, which has no control over the officers, whose all work is tried to be stopped, but it still provides 24-hour electricity, free electricity, good schools, good hospitals, electric buses, free bus travel for women to the people of Delhi," she said.
     Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva hailed the Union Budget, calling it "holistic" and "development-oriented" benefitting all sections of the society, particularly youth and women.
     The increase in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana allocation, however, is unlikely to benefit the financially weaker sections in Delhi as the Arvind Kejriwal government has not implemented it, Sachdeva claimed.
     The allocation for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) in the Union budget 2024-25 remained stagnant at Rs 1,168 crore, the same amount allotted in 2023-24.
     There were no grants for Delhi in lieu of its share in central taxes.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)