Civic deficit hits new high

OCTOBER 26: The burgeoning civic deficit looks set to hit employees of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC where it hurts the mo...

OCTOBER 26: The burgeoning civic deficit looks set to hit employees of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC where it hurts the most. With the deficit estimated to cross a staggering Rs 850 crore when the budget is presented in February next year, civic officials say that the administration may not be in a position to disburse salaries to the staff on time.

According to estimates drawn up by civic officers, the deficit this year alone will stand at Rs 250 crore. The officials claim that looking at the income collected within the last six months, it is unlikely that the administration will be able to achieve targets.

The expenditure, though, hasn8217;t been trimmed: The BMC spends over 70 per cent of its revenue on administrative costs and just 30 per cent on amenities for tax-paying citizens. Added to this deficit is a directive from the state government to fill up the 1,000 posts lying vacant. 8220;We have been dilly-dallying on this to cut down on expenditure, but there is no escape now,8221; admitted anofficer. Add to this the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission 8211; for which the BMC will have to shell out another 100 crore 8211; and an increase in pension.

The income so far from the various departments in the corporation has not shown any substantial increase compared to last year. And with unrealistic targets set by the Mayor-in-Council for the present year, it will not be possible for the administration to achieve the targets it had set.

Octroi, the major revenue raker for the municipal corporation, has also failed to fill the BMC8217;s coffers. The target set for income from octroi is a whopping Rs 1,500 crore, while the target in the previous budget was just around Rs 1,100 crore. As per the norm, the target is increased by about 15 per cent over the previous target; thus, this year, the BMC should have aimed for Rs 1,300 crore only.

The civic administration has managed to collect just Rs 622 crore in the last six months, and it is next to impossible to mop up Rs 900 crore in just six months. Octroicollections have also dropped drastically due to the nationwide truck strike. 8220;Once the strike is called off, all the trucks will bunch up at the naka at one shot, overburdening the staff. This will make it easy for truckers to evade tax,8221; pointed out an official.

The Rs 200 crore estimated from property tax will also not be coming in, as the proposal is yet to be implemented. The final draft is still being prepared by the civic administration, and it will have to be approved by the state government, which is likely to drag on for another six months.

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Another source of income that will not materialise is the amount of Rs 126 crore expected from licenses. According to civic officers, only about Rs 50 crore is likely to be recovered by March next year. The refuse fee charged from hawkers too had to be discontinued, and the BMC loses about Rs five lakh per day.

The BMC has been trying to cut flab: Additional Municipal Commissioner Subodh Kumar recently turned down 22 proposals amounting to Rs 30 crorerelated to petty works such as repairing of roads. Sundry expenses not provided for in the budget have been reduced. While it was 100 crore previously, this year, it has been slashed to Rs 10 crore.

The only solution beleaguered officials see is to slash expenditure on staff salary. That would mean cutting down heavily on ex-gratia payment to the staff. 8220;In the BMC, even a Deputy Municipal Commissioners gets ex-gratia while in the state secretariat, it is given only up to the desk officers grade,8221; said the officer, adding that the administration will have to say a firm no to unions during negotiations.