Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) adopted a surplus budget of Rs. 1.03 crore for the fiscal year 2013-14 at its special general body meeting in Mangalore on Tuesday.
The budget presented by CMC president Kiran Kumar showed receipts at Rs. 81.84 crore while the expenditure had been projected at Rs. 80.80 crore.
The budget aimed at providing financial assistance for housing, electricity supply and toilets to the members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes in the city.
It would continue medicare scheme for SC/ST communities. The CMC would computerise all its operations. The CMC planned to construct a four-lane road from Karavali Junction to Malpe Beach, in association with the Public Works Department and Coastal Development Authority.
A herbal garden would be developed at the Bhujanga Park. The CMC would construct an open air theatre and a ground at Beedinagudde. It would construct public toilets at Parkala, Malpe and Santhekatte on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis. Hi-tech bus stands would be constructed wherever necessary in the city on BOT basis. Old circles in the city would be improved.
Various economic programmes would be formulated to utilise the funds made available by the government for alleviation of urban poverty. Small fish markets in the city would be modernised with the help of government funds. An Udupi CMC directory would be compiled and released. Since the number of vehicles has increased, more parking areas would be created.
The CMC also planned to construct a Manipal-Alevoor-Kukkikatte-Korangrapady-Udyavara Ring Road; Kallianpur-Parika Coastal Road, Malpe-Kodavoor-Santhekatte-Puttur Ring Road, Kukkikatte-Railway Station Road, Korangrapady-Kukkikatte-Manchi-Manipal Road, Mr. Kumar said.
As soon as the meeting began, Leader of the Opposition Jayananda (Congress) objected to the presentation of the budget. He said the budget could not be presented in a special general body meeting. The agenda copy had not been sent to the councillors a week in advance as required. Mr. Kumar had neither held wide-ranging consultations nor taken the Opposition into confidence. There was no point in presenting the budget when the life of the present Council would end in two days. Instead, Mr. Kumar should have taken a vote-on-account. The budget had not addressed the drinking water and underground drainage problem, he said.
Intervening, Mr. Kumar said there were two parts to the session. The budget session was separate and the special general body meeting was separate.
It was the prerogative of the CMC president to call a meeting.
There was no legal or any other bar on presenting the budget. Besides there was no provision for taking a vote-on-account for CMC, he said.
