File photo: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
In reply to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's denial that his government owes money to the municipal corporations in the city, Mayors of the three civic bodies accused him of "misguiding" people and "violating" Constitutional provisions.
In an open letter published in newspapers today, Mr Kejriwal sought to "clear the air" about the government's role in the ongoing strike of sanitation workers saying it has released Rs 511 crore extra to the corporations this year as compared to the previous year.
"The government has already paid the full amount to the corporations. Last year till October, Rs 1859 crore was paid. This year Rs 2370 crore has been paid which is Rs 511 crore more than last year," he said.
The Mayors of North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations in a joint press conference, charged Mr Kejriwal government of "paralysing" and "holding back" funds of the civic bodies.
East Delhi Mayor Harshdeep Malhotra accused Delhi Government of "practicing politics" over the funds issue, adding that "government never provided full funds to the municipal corporations leading them to financial crisis."
The Mayors giving details of funds received by civic bodies and that pending with Delhi Government, alleged that the government is also not implementing recommendations of Fourth Finance Commission which would generate funds to the tune of Rs 6176 crore to them.
North Delhi Mayor Ravinder Gupta and South Delhi Mayor Subhash Arya also addressed the press conference.