Delhi govt seeks over 900 crores from Centre for G20 summit preparations

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday asked the Centre for a grant of 927 crore to take up special development work for the G20 summit in the national capital.

In a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Sisodia said it will not be easy for the Delhi government to spend an extra 927 crore from its limited resources for the G20 summit preparations.

Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the Delhi government will extend full cooperation to the Centre for successfully hosting the G20 summit.

India assumed the presidency of the influential bloc G20 at its annual summit in Bali in November last year with a promise of striving to ensure that the grouping acts as a global prime mover to envision new ideas and accelerate collective action to deal with pressing challenges.

India is hosting a series of events and meetings ahead of the G20 summit later this year.

“In light of the importance of the G20 summit and … for the G20-related events taking place in Delhi to be held successfully, I request you to provide us with the requisite 927 crore from the central government,” Sisodia wrote in the letter.

It would be of great assistance in making sure that the various events and functions of the Delhi government take place seamlessly and the preparations are completed on time, he said.

In the run-up to the G20 summit on September 9-10, more than 200 meetings will be held across 55 locations in the country.

Delhi government departments have prepared a plan for infrastructure development, and various activities and programmes in the city. These include beautification work around the venues for G20 summit events and for hosting different activities and programmes at prominent places in the city, he said.

The Centre has not been paying anything to Delhi as its share in central taxes and also did not provide any additional grant to the city government, Sisodia claimed.Even the funds being given to civic bodies in states as per their population are not being provided to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), he alleged.

Hosting the G20 summit is a matter of pride for Delhi, Sisodia said.

“Under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the entire Delhi government will strive to ensure that the foreign guests who arrive here during the G20 summit do not face any trouble,” he said.