Delhi seeks Rs 2k crore in Budget

Reeling under huge cost overruns for the Commonwealth Games projects, the Delhi government has sought a special assistance of Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre in the Union Budget to meet its revenue shortfall. The Delhi government has written to the finance ministry requesting it to help tide over the situation arising out of huge spending on infrastructure development in the run-up to the mega sporting event, finance minister AK Walia said.

“We have sought over Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre in the Budget as special assistance to meet the growing expenses on account of the Games,” Walia said in an interview. The minister also forecast a financial shortfall in the next fiscal and said the government had small savings of Rs 11,000 crore which helped it to a great extent in meeting the increasing expenses on Games-related projects this year.

“The small saving fund helped us in tide over the situation. As the small saving fund is going to be exhausted soon, either we will have to increase our revenue generation or cut down on expenses,” he said. Officials in the finance department said cost-overruns of almost all the projects relating to the Games have been making a severe dent on the exchequer.

The economic slowdown also had a severe impact on its finances as the city government’s revenue generation reported a fall of over Rs 1,300 crore in tax collection last fiscal.