Centre Blames AAP Govt for Playing Politics Over Wages of Delhi's Sanitation Workers

New Delhi: ​A day after the Supreme Court expressed disappointment with the Centre for not agreeing to allot Rs 500 crore to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, the Union government has put the blame squarely on the Delhi government for misleading the court and playing politics on the issue.

"The Fourth Delhi Finance Commission if implemented would result in Rs 1140.27 crore more to the EDMC. Instead of implementing it the Delhi government is indulging in politics," a Union government official said.

The official said that Delhi being a Union Territory didn't fall under the finance commission and was governed by the Delhi Finance Commission recommendations.

"The Third Finance Commission was constituted in 2004 to look into the period of 2006-2011. The Delhi government is misleading people when it says that an allotment of Rs 500 crore was made by the DFC. The Rs 590.33 crore was payable to EDMC as per third DFC. The 4th DFC recommended Rs 1730.93 crores which Delhi refuses to implement even though Delhi high court ordered them to implement it," the official said.

The Aam Aadmi Party government had gone to the apex court in appeal against the Delhi high court order.

During the course of the hearing, the Delhi government told the SC that they were willing to pay Rs 500 crore to end the strike of sanitation workers in east Delhi.

The Supreme Court had then asked the Centre if it too would match the amount. Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh had later told the court that the Union government could not release any more money.

"We had expected the central government to graciously reciprocate the offer of the Delhi government on humanitarian grounds and learned Additional Solicitor General sought time to take instructions. Unfortunately and tragically, the central government has now filed an affidavit stating that it is not prepared to make any payment at all,” the SC order said.

Defending the government, the union government officials said, "the central government releases funds to GNCTD (Delhi government) as per its yearly transfers."

The month-long strike of the safai karamcharis in east Delhi has made east Delhi a huge garbage heap with threat of disease outbreak looming large.