Rs 1,315 crore to Rs 803 crore, Municipal Corporation back to ‘realistic’ budget

For year 2015-16, the MC has straightaway reduced its target and is expecting Rs 75 crore only from taxes/devolution and Rs 105 crore as loan from HUDCO and other banks.

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Broadly, for the year 2015-16, an income of Rs 763 crore is expected from general branch as against Rs 1,275 crore in 2014-15. The share of funds for developmental works and other committed expenditures has been reduced from Rs 803 crore last year to Rs 290 crore this year.

Another Rs 269 crore for planned expenditure on establishment and Rs 39.10 crore for non-planned (contingency) expenditure has been kept aside, taking the total expenditure figure to Rs 598 crore for 2015-16.

No major changes in budget of the Operations and Maintenance Cell (O&M) cell of the MC has been proposed and budget for maintenance of water and sewage in the city has been reduced. From Rs 212 crore expenditure last year, it has been reduced to Rs 205 crore for 2015-16.

Although the MC passed budget of Rs 1,315 crore in 2014-15, the local bodies department sanctioned Rs 770 crore only and now the budget of Rs 803.70 crore passed on Thursday will also be sent to the local bodies department for approval.

BJP uproar over F&CC meeting

In a budget discussion meeting that did not continue for more than 40 minutes with 52 of 75 councillors and four MLAs present, there was no major opposition and Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria declared the budget as passed.

However, as the meeting started, Deputy Mayor R D Sharma from the BJP created an uproar and said that first the mayor should take a decision on 333 pending agenda items of Financial and Contractual Committee (F&CC) and discuss the matter in the House. To this, the mayor said that “if in next 15 days, local bodies does not take a decision in the matter, house meeting will be called again”.

Opposing the mayor’s nomination of two councillor members to F&CC, the BJP had boycotted the meeting in January and 333 agenda items of developmental works were put on hold after intervention of the local bodies department.

Not allowed to speak: Cong, BJP

Alleging that they were not allowed to speak and present their point of view, the Congress and BJP councillors blamed the mayor for an eyewash and passing the budget in a dictatorial way.

Varinder Sehgal, a Congress councillor from ward number 3, while speaking in the House questioned why all the money was always used in wards of Akali councillors only. “Since 2012, works of not more than Rs 30 lakh have been executed in my ward. The budget that this House passes is only meant for Akali councillors?” asked Sehgal.

However, the mayor replied that “all councillors are part of one family and it is just a wrong notion”. Further, BJP councillor Inder Aggarwal was furious as his name was announced by the mayor to speak but immediately the mayor cancelled it and said that the budget was passed and the meeting was adjourned.

BUDGET IN NUMBERS

* Out of a total of Rs 803 crore, an income of Rs 763 crore is expected from general branch while Rs 40 crore is expected from Operations and Maintenance Cell. For expenditure, Rs 598 crore has been kept for general branch and Rs 205 crore for O&M Cell.

* 40.31% of total budget is for planned expenditure while maximum 54.81% has been earmarked for developmental works and 4.88% for contingency (non-planned) expenditure. However, share of development expenditure works has gone done from 72% last year to only 54% this year.

* Miserable collections from advertising tax Rs 32.79 lakh only against expected Rs 3.5 crore crore last year. Collection of Rs 5.11 lakh and Rs 14.21 lakh only from slaughter houses and vehicle license fee till December.

* Income from MC libraries is Rs 17,000 only against expected Rs 3 lakh. Target kept at Rs 1 lakh for 2015-16.

* Street lights and maintenance get Rs 8.5 crore only for 2015-16 as compared to Rs 39 crore last year. Budget for power bills of street lights expected Rs 45 crore in 2015-16.

* Rs 23 crore for new roads and Rs 52.50 crore for maintenance proposed for 2015-16. Last year, the MC proposed expenditure of Rs 176 crore on roads but only Rs 69 crore was actually spent.

* MC fuel bills cost Rs 12.43 crore in 2014-15, more than expected Rs 12 crore. Now Rs 13 crore proposed for the same in 2015-16.

‘Modi’s jacket’

District Congress (urban) president and councillor Gurpreet Gogi came with a Modi-style jacket in the House meeting and said that the Ludhiana MC should auction this jacket to get funds and help reduce the MC losses.

He waved the jacket in the House and claimed that it was a jacket of PM Narendra Modi and should be auctioned by the Ludhiana MC.