The demand for greater revenue share for Mumbai is getting louder ahead of the civic elections with regional parties clearly targeting the Congress.
The demand for greater revenue share for Mumbai is getting louder ahead of the civic elections with regional parties clearly targeting the Congress in the state and Centre.
Mumbai alone contributes up to 40% of the total Central revenue. But, the state economic survey shows that the allocation of funds to the state is restricted to 6%.
The NCP, which holds the finance portfolio, has on several occasions made its plea for seeking higher allocations of funds proportionate to their revenue generated to meet the investment demands in social and infrastructure sectors.
The Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party are in the forefront wondering why the central leadership of the party has turned a blind eye to the woes of Mumbai.
“The Centre has never reciprocated through generous allocations of funds for putting the development of city on the fast track,” said Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena executive president.
He asked why the Congress government in the state has never pitched its claim for high allocations to help the city to address several infrastructure projects.
Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan refuted the charges: “Being the financial capital of India there is no question of Mumbai getting a raw deal. The city has received money for mega projects through various Centre-funded schemes.”
The Congress top leadership added: “Mumbai got maximum support from the centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).”
The Union ministry for urban development boasts of setting aside up to 50% of the funds of the total Rs1 lakh crore for projects undertaken in JNNURM specifically for Mumbai.
But, Sena-BJP leaders maintain that the Centre will have to reckon that Mumbai cannot be treated like other metros. The Opposition has often accused the Congress of trying to break Mumbai from the state to accord it a union territory status on the lines of New Delhi.
A senior Congress MP, on condition of anonymity, said: “I don’t want to trigger a debate but I don’t see anything wrong if Mumbai gets a special status like New Delhi. On the contrary, it will help in rapid development of Mumbai.”
Senior BJP leader Madhav Bhandari said: “The Congress, which has ruled the state for the maximum years, have always overlooked Mumbai’s concerns in terms of planning. The partisan politics played by the Congress and NCP in policy decision to compete with civic body just because it was under Sena and BJP rule states their narrow mind set.”
But, a senior economic expert from the Congress said: “Mumbai is able to generate 35-40% revenue because it is the financial capital of India. Major industrial houses are headquartered in Mumbai, but the operations of all these factories and manufacturing units are located in the interiors.”
“The Centre is bound to allocate more funds to those states which are economically backward compared to Maharashtra. In that sense, Mumbai cannot expect different treatment.”
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