CHENNAI: The 2017-18 budget for Greater Chennai Corporation
has been passed, but it may be a while before we know what is in it.
Corporation sources, however, say the budget is bereft of any major new
project.

Special officer and corporation commissioner D Karthikeyan passed the
fiscal budget, but the civic body is not making the documents public,
citing the model code of conduct which has come into force for the RK
Nagar byelection. NGO Satta Panchayat Iyakkam
on Monday wrote to chief electoral officer Rajesh Lakhoni asking if
this reason is valid. The code came into effect on March 9 for the
bypoll scheduled on April 12. Sources in the corporation say that the
budget was passed on March 14 and that there have been no major
announcements and the focus has been only on storm water drains which
received more than Rs1,000 crore allocation.

The NGO asked the election office if it was its order to Greater Chennai Corporation
to withhold publishing the budget, and if the corporation has sought
the election panel’s clarification in this regard. “When the state
budget can be released to the public, why our city budget can’t be
publicised. The election is only for one constituency in the city,” said
SPI general secretary Senthil Arumugam. Out of the 200 wards in the
city, RK Nagar constitutes seven wards.

Civic chief D Karthikeyan told TOI that the model code of conduct did
not prevent the corporation from passing the budget but that they
require permission for making the budget document public. “We need to
clarify with the Election Commission of India regarding giving budget details to the press,” he said.

Every year, the fiscal budget for the city is passed mid-March by the
mayor and his council. Since the AIADMK-led council’s term ended in
October and councillor elections were suspended, all local bodies were
headed by their executive chiefs doubling up as special officers. The
latter carries out all functions in the absence of an elected council
and mayor. Every department had prepared proposals apart from the
routine calculations of expenditure by the end of February. Following
this they sat for discussions on projects to be rolled out. “There has
been an acute shortage of funds, so there are no new projects in this
budget,” said a senior civic official said.