MCD special meeting for civic budget adjourned, to resume on Wednesday

A special meeting called at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi headquarters on Tuesday to discuss and deliberate on the civic budget was adjourned for the day soon after it convened.

Mayor Shelly Oberoi said the session would resume at 2 pm on Wednesday.

A few members had said that they did not get adequate time to go through the budget document and so time has been allowed till the session resumes on Wednesday, she said.

Tuesday's session was scheduled to commence at 2 pm but began 15 minutes late. Proceedings had taken place for a brief period when the mayor adjourned the session.

As required by the norms, the civic budget is to be cleared by March 31.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) passed the "schedule of taxes" in the civic budget for 2023-24 on February 15. But the remaining budget process was stalled as the civic body's standing committee is yet to be elected.

The MCD had earlier said the "special budget meeting" for proposals for the Revised Estimates for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 would be held on Tuesday at Aruna Asaf Ali Meeting Hall at 2 pm.

Earlier, the MCD had written to the Delhi government, seeking permission to call a special session to clear the budget before March end.

If the entire budget is not passed by March 31, things may "get into a limbo", a source said on Friday.

The allocations made in the budget to various departments is key to proper civic functioning.

The "schedule of taxes" was passed by the MCD's special officer, whose office ceased to exist after the election of the mayor.

The taxes, rates and cesses to be levied in 2023-24 will remain the same that are prevalent as of today, the MCD said in a statement on February 15.

The municipal commissioner had presented the MCD budget in December and included the Revised Estimate for 2022-23 and the Budget Estimate for 2023-24, an official source said.