BMC goes videshi in quest for funds

Municipal Commissioner K Nalinakshan says he has already met officials of foreign banks to explore the possibility of tapping them for loans. 8220;I was advised to look at both the international market as well as financial institutions in the country,8221; he told Express Newsline. However, he said, raising loans from Indian finanacial agencies is a little too expensive though the administration has been considering institutions like the Housing and Urban Development Corporation, Mumbai Metropolitain RegionDevelopment Agency and the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India.

If necessary, the BMC would even float bonds, he added, pointing out that the corporation was given an AAA8217; rating by CRISIL last year. However, since a second agency8217;s approval is required, the corporation has approached CARE as well.

Nalinakshan said bonds are the cheapest option, considering the stagerring deficit it currently faces. 8220;The rating agency will advise us on the quantum of funds we should borrow,8221; he explained, adding that it sould not be difficult to raise a minimum Rs 1,000 crore from this source.

When it kicked off its concretisation programme in the late eighties, the BMC had planned to cover about 450 km of the city8217;s roads. However, after spending Rs 600 crore on 288 km, the corporation hit a serious road-block: it simply ran out of funds. The crunch was so severe that the erstwhile Mayor-in-Council brought the concretisation programme to a screeching halt. Therefore, no new provisions have beenmade for in the present budget.

Chief Engineer Roads G K Apte says a detailed five-year programme has been drafted to concretise the remaining 170 km roads but this would entail an expenditure of Rs 400 crore. If the funds are indeed forthcoming, he said, all arterial, link and main roads leading to suburban railway stations will be concretised.

This will be undertaken in a phased manner at the rate of bout 35 km and Rs 80 crore per year.

About complaints that some freshly concretised roads sported patches of tar, Apte said this was due to the 8220;missing links8221; in the Mumbai Sewerage Disposal Project. Once the project work underground is complete, the unsightly patches would disappear. Roads at traffic junctions would be mastic asphalted, he added.

Also, he explained, openings for laying of cables would be provided at intervals of 150 mt so that digging would be unnecessary. Provisions for six utilities will be made including laying of water pipelines. However, this would take a while tocomplete.

Money is also being raised to build new drains, widen and deepen old ones as well as to lay new sewers in areas like Gorai and Dahisar.