Urban News

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
Municipal Finance

Corporators to get Rs 40 lakh extra for ward development

Thursday, 02 August 2012 10:01 administrator
Print PDF

The Indian Express     02.08.2012

Corporators to get Rs 40 lakh extra for ward development

After scrapping the Rs 1-crore development fund for corporators a year ago, the BMC standing committee on Wednesday brought it back in a diluted form.

According to the proposal, member corporators of all 24 ward committees will be given an additional Rs 40 lakh this year, irrespective of the size of the committee. The committees already receive an annual fund of Rs 1 crore, which is equally divided among its corporators. This is over and above the councillor fund that was last year hiked to Rs 60 lakh from Rs 35 lakh. This proposal, however, needs to be cleared by the BMC Commissioner and subsequently by the state government.

“These funds will be used for ward-level works and carrying out maintenance work and repairs in the city. Earlier, a Central agency handled some of these repairs and constructions but now these will be taken up by every corporator,” said standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale.

As the funds will be sourced from the ward committee, corporators will have to seek the approval of the fellow committee members before undertaking any project. While the municipal councillor fund (Rs 60 lakh) limits corporators from taking up projects that entail an expenditure of over Rs 5 lakh, the limit of the ward committee fund is double at Rs 10 lakh. “Expenses under the ward committee mainly pertain to civil work repair and maintenance. With the monsoon, no work can be carried out now. Post-monsoon, only six months remain. This is bad planning, the corporation should have increased the corpus much earlier so we could have been better prepared for the rains,” said BJP corporator Manoj Kotak.

 The standing committee has also approved the amendments to the BMC budget for 2012-13, which is about Rs 26,000 crore and includes Samsung Android cellphones and Rs 500 telephone allowance for each corporator.

Interspersed with expenses for the creation of a research and development wing for the Roads Department, dryer compactors for garbage collection, and postage stamps and stationery, the list amounts to an addition of Rs 5 crore to the budget. “Actual costs may go up to Rs 10 crore,” added Shewale.

Last Updated on Saturday, 04 August 2012 11:36
 

Councillor can spend Rs 1cr on ward

Wednesday, 01 August 2012 09:01 administrator
Print PDF

The Times of India   01.08.2012

Councillor can spend Rs 1cr on ward

CHANDIGARH: Each municipal councillor will now be able to spend up to Rs 1 crore on developmental works in his ward. The decision was taken in the MC house meeting on Tuesday which culminated at 9.30pm. Late in the evening, it was also resolved to give the same financial powers to nominated councillors even as the opposition party, BJP, termed it a "lollypop" to lure the non-elected members in a hung house.
 
Councillor Satish Kainth presented ward development fund report in the house meeting. In his report, he purposed that as the cost for material and other things had gone up, money given for ward developmental fund should be increased from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 1 crore per year. Initially, councillors supported it, but when the point related for giving the same financial power to nominated councillors was proposed, councillor Arun Sood said it's "lollypop" by Congress councillors and UT administration will never accept it. To this some nominated councillors -- Sat Paul Bansal and Amrit Tewari strongly -- objected to words and said they are not kids that Congress can allure them and they stressed that Sood takes his words back.The report also suggested giving some more powers to councillors in using their fund. Elected councillors can use their fund in dispensaries and schools. 

 

Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 August 2012 09:03
 

BBMP owes Rs. 85 crore to Libraries Department

Saturday, 19 November 2011 06:39 administrator
Print PDF

The Hindu        19.11.2011

BBMP owes Rs. 85 crore to Libraries Department

Staff Reporter

Upset with the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) which owes it Rs. 85 crore, the Department of Public Libraries has written to the State Government to direct all municipal corporations not to divert the library cess amount for any other purposes.

K.G. Venkatesha, Department Director, told The Hindu on the sidelines of a library inauguration at the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences on Thursday the Rs. 85-crore arrears was an accumulation of the 6 per cent library cess BBMP had collected from the public over 20 years.

“Although some payment is made now and then, BBMP has not been regularly clearing the dues. This has affected our finances because of which we are not able to construct our own library buildings. We have acquired 16 sites in the city but are unable to construct as we don't have a separate building fund. We are dependent on the library cess,” Mr. Venkatesha said.

“Of the 80 libraries in the city, only eight are housed in the department's own buildings; the rest are functioning in rented premises. We want to set up a model city central library on the lines of the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai and the early clearance of dues will of great help,” he said.

Appeal

Mr. Venkatesha has appealed to the Government to direct all municipal corporations to open a non-operative account to deposit the library cess collection.

  • Amount is an accumulation of the 6 per cent library cess collected through property tax
  • Of the 80 libraries in the city, only eight are housed in the department's own buildings
    •  
    More Articles...


    Page 25 of 65