The South Delhi Municipal Corporation tabled its Rs.2,995 crore budget proposal for the next fiscal 2013-14 on Friday with a slew of measures to enhance municipal corporation schools, a new revenue model for collection of property tax and has categorised parking spaces to decongest areas.
The budget laid down by Commissioner Manish Gupta promises timely payment of salaries and other benefits to the civic body’s employees with assurance that the civic body will not go in for any fresh borrowings.
In order to decongest parking areas and increase circulation of vehicles in surface car parking, three categories have been created: Category A (premium surface parking in main markets such as South Extension, Lajpat Nagar and Defence Colony, Category B (surface parking other than those in category A), and Category C (multi-level parking, automatic parking, underground parking). The base rates for all three categories have not changed. In addition, an IT enabled parking policy has been proposed such that receipts will be available via hand-held machines and making it compatible with MORE (common mobility) cards in the future.
Mr. Gupta also put forth a new revenue model for collection of property tax called the ‘3R’ revenue model: reform, rationalisation and recovery model. A ‘Mission Sampoorna’ has also been started for the recovery of pending taxes. Apart from a two per cent rebate offered to residents for filing property tax online, modern payment centres and e-tax filing facilities will also be setup.
On the education front, municipal schools in South Delhi will get a make over under the new budget with pucca buildings commissioned for all of them. A provision of Rs.1 crore has been marked for sanitation and maintaining hygiene in schools and private security guards will be stationed for the security of girl students. While a provision of Rs.17 crore has been made for providing uniforms to students, 648 special educators will be recruited.
On the health front, a CNG-based cremation ground will come up on Green Park, a hospital building in Lajpat Nagar, a Thalassemia cell in the maternity home in Badarpur and an eye operation theatre in the Masjid Moth polyclinic, have all been planned.However, the budget proposal has prompted both the ruling-Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress to comment on the intricacies of the proposal.
While Standing Committee Chairman Rajesh Gehlot declared that the budget is in favour of the city’s residents as there is no new tax proposals and has been made according to the need of the citizens, the Leader of Opposition Farhad Suri said the budget is without vision and direction.
He said that on the pretext of rationalisation, the Commissioner has proposed to increase the rate of property tax with respect to commercial and rented properties which will be a burden for residents.
