MCD Budget: Fixing liabilities next on the agenda for civic body

New Delhi: The unified corporation, which came into existence by subsuming the three municipal bodies of Delhi on May 22, 2022, focused on creating an administrative set up in its first month and rationalization of taxes, levies and financial heads of accounts in its second month

New Delhi: The unified corporation, which came into existence by subsuming the three municipal bodies of Delhi on May 22, 2022, focused on creating an administrative set up in its first month and rationalization of taxes, levies and financial heads of accounts in its second month.

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Senior MCD officials say that now with budget being finalised, the corporation will focus on clearing its liabilities and finalizing its “schedule of establishment”.

“Under the next phase of unification process, the corporation will have to publish establishment schedule or schedule of posts. It is the official document detailing the post titles, sanctioned posts, occupied posts and vacancies in each department. This will be sent to special officer and administrator for approval,” a senior official explained requesting anonymity. The schedule of establishment details the structure of department and its hierarchies.

“Many of the posts are currently on look after charges. The establishment schedule will be approved by corporation marking the third phase of unification process,” an official said. Under the first phase, the corporation carried out appointments of top bureaucracy in corporations while under the second phase the budget and tax regime has been rationalized. Divided among 12 zonal offices, headquarter and field staff, the municipal corporation has more than 1.5 lakh employees and pensioners. The central establishment department (CED) works as cadre controlling authority of all employees and various centralized posts

Retired Municipal Chief Law Officer Anil Gupta said that the schedule of establishment talks about the permanent posts in Group A, B and C categories. “Unified MCD had a schedule of establishment. After the trifurcation, each corporations made its own schedule. Large number of additional posts for chief engineer, additional commissioners were created due to triplication of requirements. Once the schedule of establishment is finalized, the corporation will have to confront its current arrangement in which three departmental heads have been appointed. Where will the additional people go? The schedule of establishment has to be approved by the house (special officer) and then the administrator who is Lieutenant Governor. Additional post creation and as well as removal requires their assent,” Gupta said.

Another senior MCD official said that the unified civic body’s key priority will now be to clear its financial liabilities. MCD has liability of ₹1600 cr on contractors for development work that has been completed while the pension and salary liability of ₹830 cr still exists, MCD officials claim. MCD commissioner Gyanesh Bharti has set targets for each department to raise the internal revenue and weekly monitoring of income under each head is being carried out. “The annual target for annual revenue from internal sources is ₹11,000 crores. So far, we have been able to collect around ₹180-190 crores in the first two months and new options of revenue collection are being explored. In various heads like licenses and tax payments, the largest inflow comes at the end of the cycle,” MCD official said. Civic body’s officials have argued that cost cutting is being carried out, it will be able to run basic operations and pay salaries with Rs12,400 crores but the financial situation will not allow for any development work.