The Delhi government has demanded Rs 5,000 crore assistance from the Centre to be able to pay salaries to its employees, Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Sunday.

Sisodia, who also holds the finance department charge, said the Delhi government requires Rs 3,500 crore per month to pay salaries to its employees and to meet other needs.

'However in past two months, our GST collection has been only Rs 500 crore each month. We need at least Rs 7,000 crore to be able to pay salaries to our employees many of whom are discharging frontline duties against the coronavirus epidemic,' Sisodia said in a press conference.

The Deputy CM said that in a letter to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he had demanded Rs 5,000 crore from the Centre as Delhi did not get anything from the disaster relief fund that was given to other states.