MHA Approved Budget, Info Received from Media: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi Budget for the year 2023-24 was slated to be presented on Tuesday
NEW-DELHI: The Delhi government's response to the news of the Home Ministry approving the Delhi budget has come to the fore. The Delhi government said, "We have received information through the media that the MHA has approved the budget for Delhi. But we are waiting for the official approval."
On the other hand, sources in the Lieutenant Governor's office said on Tuesday that the Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the budget of the Delhi government and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has been informed about it. This statement came after a dispute between the Center and the Delhi government on the issue.
Delhi Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot said that the budget file has again been sent to the Union Home Ministry for approval. It is worth mentioning here that the budget of the Delhi government for the year 2023-24 was slated to be presented on Tuesday.
Earlier today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him not to stall the Delhi budget. The central government has stalled the presentation of the budget for the financial year 2023-24 in the Delhi Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
In a news channel programme, Kejriwal on Monday accused the Center of "outright hooliganism", saying it was the first time in the country's history that a government's budget had been frozen. AAP has shared a video on social media platform Twitter.
After Kejriwal criticized Central govt, sources in the home ministry said that the ministry has sought an explanation from the AAP government as its budget proposal made more provision for advertisements. There is fragmentation and little budget allocated for infrastructure and other development initiatives.
"The AAP government has not yet responded to our queries," said a source in the ministry. Sources in the 'AAP' government have termed these allegations as false. They claimed that the total budget is worth Rs 78,800 crore, of which Rs 22,000 crore has been proposed for infrastructure and only Rs 550 crore has been earmarked for advertisements.