AMC8217;s fiscal management poor

In a statement issued later, he said the AMC had failed miserably in meeting all its income targets which showed how unrealistic they were.

According to him, going by the current realisations, the octroi income would not cross Rs 275 crore in any case against the target of Rs 351 crore because it reached only Rs 135 crore in the first six months of the year. Similarly, he said the income from property tax had been projected at Rs 170 crore but only Rs 44 crore was realised till September 21.

The AMC has to shell out around Rs 70 crore in debt servicing annually which does not include the Rs 139 crore it owes to the State Government. Over and above this, the AMC is burdened with Rs 48 crore towards implementation of fifth Pay Commission recommendations and Rs 16 crore as arrears of May-August 1998, he said.

In such a desperate situation, how can the AMC boast of managing on its own the finances for the Rs 105-crore Raska water pipeline project, he wondered. He said the ruling party councillors and MLAs from the city had meekly surrendered before the State Government diktat by not seeking any financial support for the project.