The Hindu 12.03.2013
Civic body prepares Rs. 303 crore budget
Rs. 156 crore has been earmarked for drinking water project.
The Kakinada Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Monday chalked out a budget for Rs. 303.71 crore for the financial year 2013-14. Of the total outlay, Rs. 156 crore has been earmarked for the drinking water project to be sponsored by the APMDP, while the balance amount will be spent on various development works.
Special Officer of the KMC and District Collector Neetu Prasad has passed the budget, which was made public by Municipal Commissioner V. Ravi Kumar here. Addressing a press conference, the Commissioner said that the revenue expenditure for the fiscal was estimated as Rs. 303.71 crore, whereas the income from various sources was assessed as Rs. 309.76 crore.
Referring to the various heads, Mr. Ravi Kumar said that the property tax collected was assessed as 28.42 crore, while the non-taxes and fee amount was Rs. 8.77 crore.
He said that priority was given to the drinking water project and the widening of Main Road, which would be beneficial to the city in the long run. He said that the proposed drinking water project at Jaganndhapuram would be of great help in quenching the thirst of the citizens till 2026 and plans were afoot to complete the task during the fiscal.
On the Main Road issues, he said that decks had been almost cleared the issue of removal of the ‘Gali Gopuram’ of the old Ramalayam on the Main Road was being discussed with the representatives of the temple. “The Special Officer is keen on completing the widening works at the earliest and taken the initiative to remove the blockades,” he said.
Mr. Ravi Kumar wanted the people to pay the property taxes regularly and help the corporation take complete the development works in time. He said that focus would be made on connecting various parts of the city with cement concrete roads and addressing the sanitation issue in a phased manner.
Meanwhile, the Telugu Desam Party found fault with the budget and felt that it was an incomplete one. Former president of the party’s city unit Dusarlapudi Ramana Raju, in a statement here, said that the budget was aiming at levying additional taxes on the public in the days to come.
