The Hindu 25.03.2010
Tirunelveli Corporation presents a deficit budget
Staff Reporter
TIRUNELVELI: Even as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members staged a walkout from the council meeting, Mayor A.L. Subramanian presented the Rs. 10.44-crore deficit Budget for the financial year 2010 – 2011 here on Wednesday.
Even as the revenue of the civic body is likely to stand at Rs. 91.28 crore, the expenditure during this fiscal is expected to be Rs. 101.72 crore.
Speaking on the Budget proposals, Palayamkottai Zone chairman Suba. Seetharaman said the existing age-old drinking water distribution pipes should be replaced with unbreakable pipes so that supply of drinking water to the residents would be more effective.
Melapalayam Zone chairman S.S. Mohamed Maideen said procurement of new vehicles for clearing garbage should be accorded top priority so that cleanliness could be ensured everywhere, which was endorsed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) councillor of ward 19, P. Thiyagarajan.
Even as the Mayor extended his thanks to the members for their encouraging words on the budget proposals, the AIADMK member, Pon. Thangaraj, said his party members were staging a walkout from the meeting “condemning the step-motherly treatment being meted out to the wards represented by the councillors of the opposition party.”
Ignoring the charges, Mr. Subramanian said work on the drinking water project for wards 8, 9 and 10 would commence shortly and the consultant for working on the project to bring water from Papanasam Dam directly to the corporation through a dedicated pipeline would be appointed shortly.
“The ongoing drinking water scheme for the benefit of wards 19, 26 and 27 will be completed before July 2011,” the Mayor informed.
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System for monitoring the functioning of water supply at an estimated cost of Rs. 3.15 crore would be executed. ‘Rapid Sand Filter' units would be installed at Kurukkuthurai water supply head works on an outlay of Rs. 3.25 crore while four desilting equipments on an outlay of Rs. 32 lakh would also be procured, he said.
The corporation administrative block would have a new building to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 5 crore after removing the existing VOC Building. Financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 8.35 crore would be made available to the poor for the construction of new houses or upgrading the existing ones under the Centre's Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme.
Extension and execution of underground drainage scheme for the hitherto uncovered areas would be taken up during this fiscal. Replacement of drinking water supply main pipes in wards 30 to 32 would be done at a cost of Rs. 28 lakh while installation of new streetlights would be taken up on an outlay of Rs. 30 lakh.
