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Municipal Finance

We will meet 2010 deadline: Mayor

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The Times of India 10.07.2009

We will meet 2010 deadline: Mayor

NEW DELHI: Even as Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) claimed that chief minister Sheila Dikshit had agreed to release funds needed for fast-tracking preparations for the Commonwealth Games 2010, Dikshit maintained that she had asked the civic agency to improve its performance and create more avenues for fund generation before additional funds were released by the government.

Said mayor Kanwar Sain: "To ensure all projects are completed on time, especially those related to the Games, we have asked the CM to release Rs 500 crore.'' The mayor discussed the annual outlay of MCD for the year 2009-10 at a meeting with Dikshit at Delhi Secretariat on Thursday.

"The chief minister has accepted our request. She also said that as a matter of procedure we should send a formal request to the Delhi government with details of various projects which require funding,'' added Sain. Meanwhile, sources in the CM's office said that MCD had asked for Rs 1,000 crore.

"A number of projects are under way and need immediate funding for timely completion. For instance, under the transport sector, we have got Rs 70 crore, but the construction of railway overbridges/underbridges will cost Rs 312 crore. So we have asked for Rs 350 crore under that head. In education, we have been provided with Rs 65 crore, while we usually get Rs 120 crore. We have demanded for Rs 240 crore for construction of classrooms, etc. Under the Sixth Pay Commission, we have arrears pending that need to be paid to our employees,'' said Mayor Sain. MCD has also asked for a lump sum amount for improvement of sanitation in the city.

Accepting that the CM had asked MCD to improve collections of property tax, the mayor said, "Only 9 lakh properties out of 22 lakh pay property tax in Delhi. We were asked to improve our collections and we are working towards that,'' said the mayor.
Last Updated on Friday, 10 July 2009 12:38
 

Local bodies development fund to be floated

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Source : The Hindu Date : 13.06.2009

Local bodies development fund to be floated

N.J. Nair

 


Board headed by LSG Minister to manage the fund

Single-window facility for local bodies


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Putting an end to the indecision for two years and paying around Rs.2 crore as commitment charges to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for poor absorption of the sanctioned funds, the government is learnt to have decided to go ahead with a proposal for floating a Local Government Development Fund.

The fund would be a permanent single-window lending and project development facility for local self-government institutions which are reeling under acute funds crunch for taking up major development projects.

A sum of Rs.24,358 lakh, sanctioned under the Kerala State Urban Development Project (KSUDP) for infrastructure development in civic bodies, has been remaining largely unutilised owing to the government’s indecisiveness in floating the fund. The alleged lapse of the government in utilising the funds had cost the exchequer Rs.2 crore.

Sole source

At present, the Kerala Urban and Rural Development Finance Corporation (KURDFC) is the only recourse for civic bodies to seek funds for their development initiatives.

The corporation sources its funds from government banks and financial institutions at 10.88 per cent interest for funding the LSGIs.

The corporation too does not have sufficient resources at its disposal to meet the increasing demand for financial support.

Even the financial assistance for various development projects do not have much takers since the LSGIs do not have own funds to contribute the mandatory 20 per cent of the allocation for availing themselves of the facility.

Official sources told The Hindu that steps would be taken soon to create the fund through an Act of the Assembly.

The corpus for the new funding facility would be sourced through government contribution as well as from the capital markets at a lesser rate.

A board headed by the Local Self-Government Minister would manage the fund. It would comprise the Secretaries of LSG, Planning, Modernisation Government Programme (MGP), Finance, Director of Urban Affairs, a mayor, a municipal chairman and a panchayat president.

Professional deals

The Assembly would have a crucial role in the ownership of the fund. It would be managed by an asset management company and have a team of professionals and also the participation of financial institutions in the equity.

The proposed funding facility is expected to give a fillip to the development activities of the LSGIs.

Last Updated on Saturday, 13 June 2009 15:33
 


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