At the 105th National Executive Committee Meeting of the All India Council of Mayors (AICM) here, Badal accused the Centre of diluting the country's federal structure by encroaching upon the rights of the states, which have now been reduced to the level of "dignified municipalities."
This unfortunate trend followed by the Centre to usurp the powers of states by clandestinely shifting from federal to unitary pattern is totally against both democratic norms and constitutional ethics, he alleged.
States alone cannot execute development works in the urban sector due to paucity of funds, he said, adding that the Central government should release sufficient funds.
"Even after 65 years of Independence, our governments have not been able to provide the people with the basic civic amenities of safe drinking water, sewerage, roads and street lights," he said.
The Centre had allegedly granted funds to the states under various centrally sponsored schemes like Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) with certain riders or pre-conditions.
This had forced the states to levy user charges or other taxes on the people, leading urban bodies to face numerous hardships in undertaking development projects, he claimed. (MORE)
