The Municipal Corporation on Thursday approved a budget of Rs 637.85 crore for the financial year 2013-14. This will include Rs 261.05 crore under plan head and Rs 376.85 crore under the non-plan head. The estimates approved were less than that of last year which was Rs 812.78 crore. Provision for no new projects was made in the budget. Terming it a realistic budget,Mayor Subhash Chawla stated that while in the previous years,the amount allocated for projects increased each year,this was not being spent. The records of the past few years show that the expenditure has been much less than what was proposed. The budgetary allocations made for the coming financial year are more than what was spent last year, Chawla said. An amount of Rs 60 crore has been allocated for roads and bridges. For civic work,the amount allocated is Rs 22.50 crore,while for solid waste management it is Rs 22 crore. The civic body has allocated Rs 15 crore for primary education department and Rs 20 crore for primary health. In his budget speech,the Mayor said that the main area of concern would be to complete the ongoing developmental work. He added,Our priorities this year will be to complete the ongoing works,so that we can fulfill the expectations of the citizens. No new projects have been made a part of the budget. Emphasis has been laid on better water supply,sanitation management and improved streetlights. BJP Councillor Arun Sood stated that the discussion on the budget should have been completed in the first week of February. A special meeting should have been held for discussion on the budget. The budget has no new projects. The share of the MC in revenue collected has not been increased over the past several years, he stated. The UT Administration has made an allocation of Rs 146.60 crore for the MC in the budget. Councillor Saurabh Joshi questioned that if the Administration had already allocated an amount for the MC,then why was a discussion being held today,when it should have been done a few weeks back. Councillor Pardeep Chhabra while making suggestions to be included in the budget said that samples of water available 50m below the ground should be tested. If the tests are clear,then it should be used for drinking purposes,to tide over the shortage of water. He added,A survey should be conducted to solve the parking problem in the city,which has been increasing by the day. Multi-level parking lots that have been proposed for Sectors 34,17 and 22 should be constructed. Provisions should be kept for construction of an international stadium. A traders bhawan should also be constructed. Councillor Harjinder Kaur asked for gender budgeting. A grant of Rs 15 lakh was approved for the womens committee for the purpose.
