The Hindu               18.02.2014

BBMP budget proposes very few infrastructure projects

Citizens were counting on the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) budget to give a major thrust to infrastructure development. However, the BBMP’s 2014–15 budget, with an outlay of Rs. 7,773.08 crore, lists very few infrastructure projects.

A flyover between Sirsi Circle and BHEL Circle, steel bridges from Minerva Circle to Hudson Circle and Race Course Road to the railway underbridge in Seshadripuram, and an elevated corridor between Ejipura and Kendriya Sadan are among the few mentioned.

The outlay too is lesser than last year’s Rs. 8,519 crore.

Priorities

The budget, which was presented on time unlike in previous years, was placed before the BBMP council on Monday by chairperson of the Standing Committee for Taxation and Finance M.S. Shivaprasad. Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana hailed it as a “realistic budget”.

Dr. Shivaprasad said the surplus budget was “development oriented and practical”, and had prioritised “good roads, green environs, clean drinking water, scientific solid waste disposal, smooth traffic flow, healthy society and good infrastructure”.

The numbers

During the next fiscal, the BBMP’s estimated revenue, as per the budget, is Rs. 7,779.51 crore. Of this, Rs. 2,661 crore is tax revenue, Rs. 2,260 crore is non-tax revenue, Rs. 1,833.27 crore is government grants and Rs. 976.85 crore is from other incomes.

While the budget takes into account the government grants, including Rs. 1,527 crore announced in the State budget recently, the civic body has urged the government to provide total grants of Rs. 5,000 crore.

Hoping to increase property tax collections, the BBMP has proposed to set up a high-value properties tax recovery cell. The target for the 2014–15 fiscal is Rs. 2,500 crore.

The civic body will also levy betterment charges on converted stray sites and bulk lands and hopes to collect Rs. 400 crore from this source. Once again, revenue collection amounting to Rs. 750 crore by implementing the optic fibre cable police has been featured in the budget.

Other revenue sources include advertisement tax (Rs. 182 crore) and trade licences (Rs. 60 crore).

BBMP Act

The budget also makes a mention of the need for a BBMP Act that would go a long way towards providing good administration.