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The Hindu 01.04.2010

Rs. 79.16-lakh surplus budget for MUDA

Staff Correspondent

MYSORE: Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Commissioner P.C. Jayanna on Wednesday presented a budget with a surplus of Rs. 79.16 lakh for 2010-11. MUDA expects Rs. 373.49 crore as income from various sources and the estimated expenditure for the year has been put at Rs. 372.70 crore.

Mr. Jayanna presented the budget at a special meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner P. Manivannan, who is also MUDA Chairman.

In the meeting, revised budget proposals of 2009-10 were presented and the revised estimates amounted to Rs. 121.05 crore.

It seemed the budget did not enthuse the members who were curious to know why the 2009-10 budget proposals were not fully implemented. The budget lacked “newness”, they said.

Land acquisition

Like previous years, a major portion of expenditure will be towards acquisition of land for new layouts.

As per the latest MUDA estimate, 1.5 lakh applications seeking sites are pending with MUDA.

Therefore, its priority is for formation of new layouts. Though it could not distribute sites at Rabindranath Tagore Nagar, which was awaited most by site aspirants, in 2009, MUDA has proposed six new layouts for 2010-11.

New layouts

They are Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar Nagar (covering Lingambudi and Yadahalli villages), Swarna Jayanthi Nagar (Halalu, Chowdahalli), Lalithadripura second stage (Lalithadripura), Shanthaveri Gopalagowda second stage (Hosahundi, Bandipalya and Uttanahalli), Lal Bahadur Shastri Nagar second stage (Chikkahalli, Choranahalli and Yandahalli) and Rabindranath Tagore Nagar second stage (Kergalli).

Mr. Jayanna said Rs. 50.40 crore had been set aside for the new layout projects and completion of layouts announced in the previous budget.

Highest expenditure

The highest expenditure will be towards acquisition of land for the proposed layouts. This year, Rs. 75 crore had been earmarked for land acquisition, payment of compensation for land acquired for outer ring road (incomplete stretch) and land acquisition at Kergalli, Nadanahalli, Sathagalli and Rammanahalli villages (following increase in compensation owing to a court order).

A sum of Rs. 45 crore had been set aside towards its share of project cost for the development of the outer ring road (ORR) from two-lane to six-lane under JNNURM, completion of the ORR stretch between Bannur Road and Nanjangud Road and construction of railway over bridges across ORR, Mr. Jayanna said.

“Owing to technical reasons, work on the stretch was not taken up though we allocated Rs. 6.05 crore last year,” he said.

The villages where MUDA acquired land for layouts can hope for basic amenities as Rs. 13 crore has been set aside for providing drains and roads.

The villages which are now part of the city include Alanahalli, Nadanahalli, Srirampura, Kalalawadi, Lingambudi Palya, Shivapura and Bandipalya.

Parks

This year too, parks will be developed and the garden at the government guesthouse will be developed on the lines of Cubbon Park in Bangalore. A sum of Rs. 4.54 crore has been set aside for development of parks.

Markets

Despite no takers for its mini markets developed in the layouts, MUDA has allocated Rs. 97 lakh for construction of new markets.

Mr. Jayanna said Rs. 15.97 crore, including Rs. 13 crore towards caution deposit and loan repayment and Rs. 10.02 crore for administrative expenditure and salary of the staff, had been earmarked.

He said Rs. 15 crore had been earmarked for construction of houses for lower income groups, Rs. 10 crore for group housing for SC/STs, Rs. 9.97 crore for Ashraya project, Rs. 82 lakh for rejuvenation of lakes, Rs. 2.12 crore for heritage park in K.C. Layout, Rs. 2 crore for planting saplings, Rs. 2.54 crore for improvement of crematoriums, Rs. 29 lakh for development of children's park, Rs. 5 crore for sports complex in Vijayanagar first stage, Rs. 87 lakh for developing rehabilitation centres for beggars, Rs. 2.70 crore for construction of a gallery on the Bannimantap grounds, Rs. 2 lakh for construction of a road in Metagalli, Rs. 1 crore for making preparations for formation of satellite towns, Rs. 1 crore for making preparations for joint development of layouts with farmers, Rs. 3 crore for roadwork in the city, Rs. 14 crore for projects recommended by MUDA members and Rs. 4.5 lakh for water supply in layouts.

Greater Mysore

Mr. Jayanna said that Rs. 2.50 crore had been set aside for the revised proposal on the Greater Mysore concept.

The Hindu 01.04.2010

Budget holds no surprises

Staff Correspondent

— Photo: R. Eswarraj

Fresh start: Corporation finance committee chairperson Rupa D. Bangera presenting the budget in Mangalore on Wednesday.

MANGALORE: The integration of solid waste management user fee with property tax, a reiteration of the commitment to improve interior roads using special grants from the Government and the construction of houses for economically and socially backward groups are the some of the highlights of the Mangalore City Corporation for 2010-11.

The budget, presented by Chairperson of the Standing Committee for Taxation, Finance and Appeals Roopa D. Bangera here on Wednesday, also proposes speedy issuance of birth and death certificates.

The integration of the waste management user fee with property tax has been prompted by the refusal by many residents to pay the monthly fee of about Rs. 20 for door-to-door collection of garbage as it is not compulsory. However, Corporation Commissioner K.N. Vijayaprakash said the merger would be implemented only after the corporation migrated from the present six-package solid waste management system to a three-package system.

Mr. Vijayaprakash said that the Government had already fixed certain tariffs to be collected as cess on property tax towards solid waste management; these rates would be applicable once the new system was in place.

It has also been proposed in the budget that asphalting of interior roads in all wards will be given priority, using a part of the Rs. 100- crore special grant (second instalment) expected from the State Government. In the 2007-08 budget, the State Government had announced that the grant would be released to the corporation over two years. Ms. Bangera said that the Government had released Rs. 57 crore so far.

The corporation also plans to construct an apartment block at Mahakalipadpu for civic workers belonging to the Scheduled Castes. Non-staff members would be provided houses at Chilimbi Hills.

Other proposals

The other proposals include the reconstruction of the Kudmul Ranga Rao Memorial building at Bejai-Kapikkad, a samaja bhavan in the Scheduled Castes colony at Suterpet, a samudaya bhavan at Viveknagar in Ballalbagh and a plan for the integrated development of Viveknagar.

All these proposals have been made under the 22.75 per cent scheme meant for the uplift of the Scheduled Castes.

The budget also provides for the setting up of an entomology cell with the existing malaria cell in its office. Other proposals include rejuvenation of open wells and tanks, the introducing tatkal scheme for speedy issuance of birth and death certificates by charging a higher fee, introducing interactive voice response system for registering civic complaints, the complete computerisation of the MCC office, bus shelters at certain locations and fountains in parks.

Ms. Bangera presented a Rs. 2.25 lakh surplus budget. The total receipts have been estimated at Rs. 175.76 crore and expenditure at Rs. 175.74 crore.

Participating in the discussion, Mr. Vijayaprakash said that a new vented dam at Thumbe to supply drinking water to the city was being built at an estimated cost of Rs. 48.21 crore. The corporation would have to bear 33 per cent of the cost, he said. So far, the civic body had deposited Rs. 7 crore with the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board, which is constructing the dam, he said. Another Rs. 2 crore had been reserved in the 2010-11 budget, he said.

Independent councillor Mariyamma Thomas described the budget as old wine in a new bottle. “There are no new schemes for the poor or the middle class,” she said.

The former Mayor M. Shankar Bhat called the budget a realistic one. Opposition members from the Congress walked out of the hall alleging that there was a lapse in procedure. They wanted to raise general issues during the meeting, but were refused permission by Mayor Rajani K. Dugganna as it was a budget meeting.

Later, the Commissioner said that there was no lapse in procedure in presenting the budget.