Mangaluru City Corporation Council Presents a Rs 157.43 Surplus Budget for 2024-25
Mangaluru: During the Mangaluru City Corporation Council meeting the Councillors along with the Mayor of the ruling BJP presented a Rs157.43 crore surplus Budget for 2024-25. The receipts were estimated at Rs 820.87 crore while the expenditures were pegged at Rs 956.01 crore. With an opening balance of Rs 292.57 crore, the savings were estimated at Rs 157.43 crore on February 28, 2024. While presenting the Budget, Varun Chowta, chairman of the Standing Committee for Taxation, Finance and Appeals, said that water consumers will be able to pay their bills through digital payment applications like Google Pay and PhonePe soon.
An online system will be implemented for booking Kudmul Ranga Rao Town Hall, Ambedkar Bhavan and the grounds of the corporation for organising functions. A web application will be introduced to make tenants of the corporation pay their rent to the civic body online. The web application will also help to maintain the digital data of tenants. In addition, an online system will be introduced for issuing building completion certificates and for making payments for installing hoardings and displaying banners. He said that measures will be taken to open a TDR (transferable development rights) Bank in the civic body to maintain a pool of TDR to enable property owners to sell their TDR and for others to purchase them without any hassle.
He said that Rs 75 lakh has been reserved for the operation of the ‘tiger gang’ to evict such street vendors who operated in non-vending zones. The chairman said that to increase the revenue collection it has been proposed to introduce commercial rates for supplying drinking water to paying guest accommodations and service apartments. A bylaw will be framed to fix rentals for those who put up stalls during ‘Jatras’ in the city. The rentals for hiring Kudmul Ranga Rao Town Hall and Ambedkar Bhavan and using the corporation’s swimming pool will be revised, he said.
Chowta said that a live bid/open bid system will be introduced while auctioning shops at commercial complexes and market buildings of the corporation by deviating from the closed bid system. It will enable more bidders to participate in the auction. He said that by switching over to the new solid waste management handling system recently, the civic body was spending Rs 1,999 per tonne of waste. Earlier it was spending Rs 4,388 per tonne of waste. With this, the civic body is expected to save Rs 22.76 crore per annum in the first year. Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur presided over the special meeting called to present the Budget.
OPPOSITION MCC COUNCIL MEMBERS ARGUED THAT THE BUDGET DID NOT FOCUS ON AUGMENTING REVENUE:
Criticising the Mangaluru City Corporation’s Budget for 2024-2, the Opposition Congress said that it did not focus on augmenting revenue. Leader of the Opposition T. Praveenchandra Alva said that identifying more paid parking places could have generated more revenue. In addition, the Budget did not make any mention of collecting fees from those service providers who laid underground cables. “Not a single paisa has been reserved for traffic management,” he said adding: “It is a Budget presented just for its sake.”
Congress member Abdul Rauf said that it has not reserved any funds for the improvement of crematoria or for building new ones. He said that rajakaluves in the city have been encroached upon in many places. A survey should be conducted on the same and encroachments should be removed for the smooth flow of water. Another Opposition member.
Naveen R. D’Souza said that a provision should have been made for opening a sub-office of the corporation at Padil. The Budget should have reserved some funds for maintaining the cleanliness of the city. The Congress member Abdul Lathif said that the Budget has ignored sports and did not reserve funds for promoting sports activities.
MCC BUDGET PROPOSES TO BUILD CREMATORIUM FOR ANIMALS, BIRDS
Varun Chowta, chairman of the Standing Committee for Taxation, Finance and Appeals said that The Mangaluru City Corporation on its part has reserved Rs25 lakh for introducing the various other services. He said that Rs 10 lakh has been reserved for creating vending zones in the city for street vendors to do their business. The chairman said that Rs 10 lakh has been reserved to assist those schools (from classes VI to X) which train students in performing Yakshagana. It is to promote the traditional art form of the coastal region.
Chowta said that the corporation will organise training programmes for youth interested in appearing for civil service and other competitive examinations. The training will be given by experts or retired IAS officers. It has reserved Rs 10 lakh for the purpose. The training will be given to encourage more youth from the city to appear for civil service examinations as their numbers are not much now. He said that a pink toilet each for women will be built at Mangaluru City South and Mangaluru City North Assembly constituencies on a pilot basis. The Budget has reserved Rs 1 crore for the same.