The Hindu 10.02.2010
Heated exchanges at civic body meet
Staff Reporter
| Rs.276.81 crores budget passed amid protest |
Corporation to strictly implement rules and regulations with regard to House Tax collections
MLA lists development works taken up in the last five years
Rajahmundry: Municipal Corporation of Rajahmundry (MCR) on Tuesday has passed Rs.276.81 crores budget for the year 2010-11 amidst protest of Congress and few ruling TDP members.
The meeting was chaired by Mayor Adireddy Veeraraghavamma and she introduced budget with revenues of Rs.276.81crores and expenditure of Rs.267.32 crores. She gave detailed statistics of budget for new financial year and also highlighted some of the important points during her one-and half-hour speech. Arguments were taken place between TDP and Congress members in the middle of the speech and the intervention of the Municipal Commissioner K. Manik Raj pacified both the members. There were heated exchanges between Varre Srinivasa Rao, floor leader TDP and K. Durgesh, MLC and ex-officio member and K. Manik Raj, Commissioner over the issue of rising House Tax in the city in next financial year.
When the new House Tax proposal was mooted by the Mayor, MLC Durgesh strongly objected the proposal by saying that it would affect middle class and lower middle class families in the city. Intervening in the subject, Commissioner said that government had directed all the municipalities to generate their own revenue and the Corporation is not going to levy any new taxes on any class of the society. He said that Corporation want to strictly implement rules and regulations with regard to House Tax collections and quoted an example that there are only 24 people in the city who are paying more than Rs.1 lakh house tax and it is 750 people in Guntur.
The Commissioner clarified that they only insist those businessmen who are avoiding house tax and collect the huge arrears by enforcing the law.
Varre Srinivasa Rao asked the floor that how much funds that MP, MLA and others have brought to the Corporation for Development in last five years and the huge budget introduced for the new financial year is to ditch the people.
MLA Rowthu Suryaprakasha Rao refuted the charges strongly and listed the development works taken up in the last five years .
In the beginning of the session, Mayor gave the details of the budget and said that revenue generating sources are not new but Corporation has chalked out planning to generate sources from its own channels.
According to her budget proposals-Property Tax arrears - Rs.22 crores, surcharge on Stamp Duty-Rs.4 crores, income generation sources Rs.2.12 crores, new tap connections, regularisation of tap connections, arrears-Rs.3.21 crores, entertainment tax-Rs.1.40 crores, advertisements-Rs.1.50 crores, business licenses-Rs.55 lakhs, sand ramp-Rs.50 lakhs and most importantly-Town Planning-Rs.15.34 crores.
The expenditure includes-drinking water, sewage water-Rs.11.67 crores, public health-Rs.8.57 crores, street lighting-Rs.3.35 crores, Capital expenditure Rs.18.15 crores and management expenditure Rs.3.10 crores.
Most of the members objected over the budget, which was not discussed in Standing Council meeting before the Budget Meeting of the Council.
