Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit requested the central government to increase the size of grant to the state considering its huge expenditure on development of infrastructure and implementation of schemes through the direct cash transfer scheme.
She said 65 per cent of the state government’s budget is allocated to social sector schemes.
She also informed that during a recent pre-budget consultation, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had assured her that he would give the issue “due consideration”.
Dikshit claims that the state government’s share in central taxes has remained frozen at Rs 350 crore since 2001 and repeated requests have been made to increase the share to at least Rs 3,500 crore.
The Rs 350-crore limit was set in 2001 when the size of the annual plan was Rs 9,973 crore. This amount, for 2012-13, is Rs 33,436 crore, Dikshit said.
She said the city government, through policies such as VAT, excise and taxes, has managed to generate its own resources to bridge the gap.
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