Mayor seeks aid as per 3rd Delhi finance panel
With the proposals of the 4th Delhi Finance Commission (DFC) yet to be approved by the Centre for the Chandigarh MC, Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla has urged UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria to release grant-in-aid as per the previous recommendations. Earlier, the MC House had adopted the proposals of the fourth commission for financial grant.
In a letter to the Administrator, Babla has stated that the Chandigarh MC House had adopted the recommendations of the 4th commission for grant-in-aid. However, despite persistent follow-ups by the Chandigarh Administration with the Home Ministry over the matter, there has been no progress in their implementation here.
“The MC is facing extreme financial difficulties and is struggling to meet even its committed liabilities. Hence, it is requested that the matter be raised at the appropriate level for the release of grant-in-aid as per the recommendations of the 3rd DFC under a stopgap measure until the 4th DFC recommendations are accepted or a new finance commission is constituted,” she stated in her letter.
The 4th DFC recommendations, aligned with Section 84-A of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1976, as extended to Chandigarh, propose that the MC should receive 30% of the proceeds from Value Added Tax (VAT) and Local Excise Duties. Additionally, it suggests 100% of collections from Motor Vehicle Tax, motor vehicle registration charges, and permit fees, along with 25% of tax on sales, purchases or consignment of goods, and 100% of Service Tax collections and stamp duties mentioned in the Union List.
According to the 3rd DFC recommendations, the MC would receive Rs 603.60 crore at the rate of 17.50 per cent of the total receipts of the UT Administration of Rs 2,449.18 crore for 2023-24; Rs 754.42 crore out of total receipts of Rs 4,311 crore for 2024-25 and Rs 743.29 crore out of Rs 4,247.38 crore for 2025-26. However, the MC received Rs 560 crore each for 2023-24 and 2024-25 fiscals, and Rs 625 crore for 2025-26.
If 4th DFC recommendations were accepted, the MC would have got Rs 1,332.50 crore for 2023-24, Rs 1651.75 crore for 2024-25 and Rs 1,704.32 crore for 2025-26.
