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Tweaked accounting procedure helps Corporation show surplus in budget

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The Hindu           23.03.2017  

Tweaked accounting procedure helps Corporation show surplus in budget

Corporation Commissioner and Special OfficerK. Vijayakarthikeyan releasing the 2017-18 budget copy at the Corporation office on Wednesday. Deputy CommissionerP. Gandhimathi is also in the picture.Photo:S. SIVA SARAVANANS_ SIVA SARAVANAN  

First surplus in recent past and by a Special Officer after 20 years

A change in accounting procedure has helped the civic body present a surplus budget for 2017-18. Corporation Commissioner and Special Officer K. Vijayakarthikeyan, who presented the budget in the presence of Deputy Commissioner P. Gandhimathi, Assistant Commissioner-Account R. Senthilkumar and others, said that this year’s budget had accounted the surplus to be Rs. 13.04 crore.

The budget had accounted the total revenue at Rs. 1,072.42 crore and expenditure at Rs. 1,059.38 crore.

Of the Rs. 1,059 crore the Corporation planned to spend in the next financial year, each ward would get only about Rs. 6 crore as the civic body had earmarked Rs. 501 crore for capital expenditure (roads, street lights, etc.) from its fund.

It would also get around Rs. 120 crore from the State Government and another Rs. 50 crore from the Central Government.

The Corporation would use the remaining to meet its establishment cost - Rs. 150 crore, repay borrowed capital Rs. 7 crore and pay interest on borrowings Rs. 11 crore, the Assistant Commissioner Mr. Senthilkumar said.

The civic body had this year adopted the accounting procedure the Commissioner for Municipal Administration had suggested, where its total revenue is calculated based on 100 % of the current year’s tax demands (property tax, water charges and a few non-tax demands) and 70 % of outstanding tax (arrears).

This had helped the Corporation arrived at a realistic revenue picture, Mr. Vijayakarthikeyan said and added that a surplus budget would mean better planning and streamlined spending.

For the current financial year (2016-17), the Corporation had earlier estimated its revenue and expenditure (budget estimates) to be Rs. 1,101.70 crore and Rs. 1,178 crore respectively but it had to revise those to (revised estimates) Rs. 874.95 crore and Rs. 958 crore respectively.


The downward revision was on account of inflated initial estimates.

The budget also revealed the Corporation’s financial health - it owes contractors Rs. 42 crore for the works they had completed and its fall in income from investments - in 2015-16 the Corporation had earned Rs. 72.51 crore and for 2017-18 it would earn a mere Rs. 2.33 crore.

Mr. Vijayakarthikeyan said that the Corporation had attempted to present a realistic budget.

The coming financial years would see the civic body in better financial health.

The coming financial years would see the civic body in better financial health

Vijayakarthikeyan

Corporation Commissioner