Delhi Budget: Five Questions that shook the nation

The Lieutenant Governor had asked five questions to the AAP government in Delhi. The five questions not only became a cause of concern for the state government but it raised several question on the legal and constitutional jurisdiction of the administrative and legislative bodies. Etv Bharat brings the five questions and the answers given by the state government.

New Delhi:After two days of continuous struggle between the Centre and the Aam Admi Party over the presentation of the budget, the Kejriwal government in Delhi is all set to present the budget on Tuesday at 11 am. Just before the presentation of the budget Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Central government had sought clarification on five issues and the government had answered all the question by Monday itself.

The chief minister also mentioned that the budget will be presented without any amendment. Here are the five questions that LG Vinay Kumar Saxena asked the state government:

- Is it incomprehensible to propose more budget for advertisements this year as compared to last year?

Answer- Full details of the expenditure incurred on advertisements in the last five years have been given. However, there may be some difference between the proposed and actual expenditure, which will be adjusted in the revised budget estimates

According to sources, the allocation on advertisement has always been point of contention between the centre the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). While the AAP government has denied the allegations of overspending on advertisements, it remains to be seen how the budget allocation will ultimately play out in terms of the city's development and progress.

The Delhi state government was questioned over its high allocation of funds to advertisements and comparatively low funds to infrastructure and other development initiatives. The finance minister, Kailash Gahlot, who was scheduled to present the budget in the Delhi Assembly, denied the allegations. He clarified that out of the Rs. 78,800 crore budget, Rs. 22,000 crore was earmarked for infrastructure, while only Rs 550 crore was allocated for advertisements.

This issue of high spending on advertisements by the AAP government had previously sparked controversy. In December of the previous year, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had ordered the party to reimburse the government Rs 163.62 crore, which had been spent illegally on advertisements. This directive, which came from the Directorate of Information and Publicity, triggered a massive political row.

However, the Deputy Chief Minister at the time, Manish Sisodia, had pointed out that advertisements featuring BJP chief ministers were also being published in Delhi's newspapers. He had questioned whether the BJP would also be asked to reimburse the government for their advertisements.

Question- What steps are being taken to control the expenditure on subsidy?

Answer- Delhi government has been giving subsidy under many welfare schemes and this year also the expenditure on this is a very small part of the total budget.

Question- The allocation for the projects is not enough?

In the last 8 years, the expenditure on capital projects has increased to almost double as compared to earlier. Its share in the total budget is almost the same this year as it was before.

Question- Funds can be obtained through the schemes of the Center, the Delhi government is not making full use of the funds obtained from the centre for implementation of different schemes.

Answer- Last year, full details of the funds received by Delhi under several schemes of the Central Government have been given.

Question- Will taking loan on deposits with National Social Security Fund put additional burden on the government?

Answer- It will depend on the needs that come up during the financial year, how much loan will be taken. In fact, much less loan was taken than what was proposed to be taken in the last financial year.