MCD budget passed amid Opposition uproar

New Delhi, Feb 9 (UNI) Amid disruption and uproar by the Opposition, Municipal Corporation of Delhi budget for Rs 4196.79 crore for 2007-2008 was today passed by the MCD House.

It is clearly an election budget with no new taxes imposed on the public. A proposal to increase tax on rented property, put forward in the speech made in the December 8 Standing Committee by MCD commissioner A K Nigam, has been withdrawn.

Further, provisions has also been made in the budget to give aid to pregnant women coming for treatment in MCD hospitals.

The passing of the budget was marked by uproar among opposition benches who were opposing some of the amendments made in the budget by ruling party members. Infact, the noisy scenes by the BJP members even forced adjourment of the House a few times.

Leader of the Opposition in the MCD House Subhash Arya particularly opposed a proposal in the budget for increasing to seven crore the discretionary fund to be spent by the Standing Committee chairman. Mr Arya said given the already precarious financial situation of the MCD, such proposals would only add to the burden.

In his concluding speech on the budget, Leader of the House Jitender Kochar, dismissing charges by the Opposition, said that in the last five years, the Congress had taken several steps for welfare of the people including implementation of the unit area method to free them from the 'inspector raj.' Mr Kochar said 2006 was a year of challenges for the MCD in that, in view of decisions of the courts, it had to do certain things which naturally caused a feeling of anger among the common man.

However, he praised the officers of the MCD for their efforts in getting relief for common man from the court decisions.

UNI