The Coimbatore Corporation for the second financial year in a row (2018-19) presented a surplus budget. Corporation Commissioner and Special Officer K. Vijayakarthikeyan, who presented the budget on Friday said, the corporation had presented a budget with a surplus of Rs. 17.74 crore. Last financial year (2017-18), the corporation had shown a surplus of Rs. 5.78 crore, as per revised estimates.
He presented the budget in the presence of Deputy Commissioner P. Gandhimathi and officials from the engineering, health, town planning, accounts and revenue sections.
The total revenue for the 2018-19 financial year would be Rs. 127.49 crore and the total expenditure Rs. 125.71 crore.
The corporation officials said the civic body’s financial health would also improve in the 2018-19 financial year, as it did in 2017-18 financial year. The civic body expected the deposits to touch Rs. 70 crore. If it were to add the Central Finance Commission’s Rs. 30 crore, which was expected in the coming days, the fund on hand would touch about Rs. 100 crore. The total outstanding, including payment to contractors, was about Rs. 75 crore.
Likewise, the corporation expected the property tax demand to also grow by Rs. 30 crore. This would put the corporation in a position to take up any project, the officials added.
As for the thrust of the 2018-19 budget, Mr. Vijayakarthikeyan said the focus would be on water supply improvement schemes, both source augmentation and distribution network improvement. As for the source augmentation project, the corporation had proposed the Pilloor III drinking water supply project.
Project report
The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board that would execute the project, was ready with the detailed project report, which the corporation would submit to the State Government for approval.
The corporation expected Rs. 30 crore from the government for the project. With the money, it would go ahead with acquiring the land required for the project - for laying water pipeline.
The extent of land to be acquired was 174 acre in nine revenue villages. As and when implemented, the Pilloor III project would bring an additional 295 million litres water a day to the city and would meet the drinking water needs till 2048.
As for distribution network improvement, the corporation had taken up the 24x7 drinking water project for the core city area and another project under the Central Government’s AMRUT scheme for added areas.
The corporation would also take up the improvement of lakes project under the Smart Cities Mission. The first package of the project involving three lakes - Valangulam, Periyakulam and Valangulam promenade - awaited the State Government’s technical sanction, which the corporation expected this week.
The detailed project report for the second package would be ready by mid-April and, thereafter the Corporation submit the same to the government for administrative sanction.
The other projects that the corporation proposed to implement in the 2018-19 financial year included upgrade of five schools under the Smart Cities Mission, model road project, again under Smart Cities Mission, green space development and command and control centre.
The other important project the corporation would take up, Mr. Vijayakarthikeyan said, was the Sanganoor Canal improvement project.
It had divided the canal improvement work into two phases and would take up the phase involving the stretch of the canal near Singanallur, for there were fewer encroachments.
As for the canal improvement work near Rathinapuri, Ganapathy and other areas, the corporation had undertaken an economic survey and resettlement plan to relocate those living on the banks. Once the survey and plan were ready, the corporation would submit the proposal to the government for approval.
