Delhi government is facing serious fund crunch due to huge spending on infrastructure projects linked to the Games.
Delhiites can breathe easy as chief minister Sheila Dikshit has ruled out any new taxes to make up for expenses incurred on the Commonwealth Games which are estimated to have cost the nation a whopping Rs70,000 crore.
"Don't worry. You won't get any new tax... At least my very firm opinion is that we don't need to increase taxes but there is a need to make our collection system more transparent and efficient," she told PTI when asked whether more taxes would be levied in view of the huge expenses on the Games.
Delhi government is facing serious fund crunch due to huge spending on infrastructure projects linked to the Games. According to latest official estimates, about Rs15,000 crore were spent by the city government for improving infrastructure facilities ahead of the sporting extravaganza.
The Commonwealth Games, according to reports, have cost the nation about Rs 70,000 crore which include expenses by different ministries besides the Delhi Government.
The efforts, Dikshit said, will be made to improve tax collection system and make it "more transparent and efficient" so that revenue earning can be increased in the remaining period of the current fiscal.
Asked about the financial position of her government, the chief minister said the situation is on a "borderline".
"We are not a deficit state but we are not a rich kind of state either," she said.
In the run up to the Games, the city government had raised levies on number of items but later reduced the taxes on some, especially diesel, following protest by petrol pump owners.
The city government had also withdrawn subsidy on cooking gas and electricity while increasing water tariff and bus fare. It has also increased Value Added Tax on a variety of items to augment its financial resources.
The government has faced financial difficulties, especially after the Centre substantially curtailed its allocation to Delhi in this year's Union budget.
It was allocated a meagre Rs50 crore for projects linked to the Games against its demand for a special assistance of Rs2,000 crore.
The economic slowdown had a severe impact on the city government's finances in 2009-10 as tax collection had fallen by over Rs1,300 crore against the targeted amount.
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