Spending slash

Presenting a Rs 20,417.31 crore budget,with a nominal surplus of Rs 10 crore while not levying any increased taxes,Kshatriya several times touched on the recessionary trend that had cast a shadow on last year’s budget,too. “The current financial position of the BMC is not robust enough to accept any irrational liability on large scale and this underlines the need to exercise stringent control on expenditure,” he said,adding the financial condition is “safe,but not sound”.

The education budget,presented separately each year,also saw a nominal rise of Rs 361 crore,the outlay at Rs 1792 crore.

This translates into the BMC focusing on obligatory duties and functions: roads,sewage,water,storm water drains and other basic amenities. The BMC will withhold spending on any new projects and also expenditure on discretionary duties like building theme gardens,swimming pools,sports complexes,drama theaters and even secondary schools and medical colleges.

“The first priority is to ensure financial stability so that shortage of resources does not mar developmental work in future,” Kshatriya said. He added the main objective of the budget expenditure would be to complete ongoing projects and not undertake any new ones. “This will not affect the pace of development of Mumbai. It is important that the past projects get completed on time so it would not result in delay and cost escalation,” he said.

Over the past few years,the BMC has seen its budget outlays grow rapidly,sometimes at more than 30 per cent over the previous year: From Rs 6715.55 crore in 2006-07,Rs 12,866 crore in 2007-08,Rs 16,792 crore 2008-09,the total outlays touched Rs 19,931 crore in 2009-10.

Implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission,coinciding with low collections from octroi (usually a money-spinner) due to the slowdown,has led to the current financial condition. Establishment costs (salaries) currently stand at 58 per cent of the total revenue account expenditure.

Special services through mega infrastructure projects will be executed through public-private partnership. This would imply private participation in redevelopment of markets,hospitals,maternity homes and even housing projects for solid waste management workers.

The budget has crossed the Rs 20,000-crore mark largely for two reasons: the proposed withdrawal of Rs 3,105.43 crore from the BMC’s special funds,and raising of an internal loan of Rs 3,000 crore to help the civic body fund its capital projects.

The state government recently allowed the BMC to raise a loan of Rs 1,000 crore from its deposits,at eight per cent per annum,to meet capital expenditures proposed during 2009-10.

HIGHLIGHTS
* Rs 5 crore for consultancy services to assess feasibility of using water from Gargai
* Rs 10.5 crore for modern technology to detect pipeline leaks
* Rs 40 crore for development of Ajgaonkar plot,Jogeshwari (East),for trauma hospital
* Toilets for slum dwellers,1 km apart,on eastern,western express highways
* Rs 50.52 crore for Tree Authority
* Rs 5 crore for a textile museum and garden in NTC’s India United Mills in Mazgaon
* Rs 1.5 crore for a new court for smaller cases in Kandivili East ; too many property tax cases pending