The Left parties have dubbed the budget 2013-14 presented by Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) as jugglery of figures.
Addressing a press conference in Vijayawada on Friday, CPI(M) city secretary Ch. Babu Rao said that the VMC officials and special officer vied with Congress party in presenting an unrealistic budget. The Corporation which is unable to pay the salaries and clear the bills of contractors has presented a surplus of Rs. 190 crore. It was nothing short of hoodwinking the people, he said.
A glance at the budget points out that the VMC slipped into revenue deficit during last fiscal. There was a gap of Rs. 97 crore between revenue receipts and expenditure. The 2013-14 budget reflected World Bank conditionalities. The Corporation escaped from infrastructure creation etc., and was chanting revenue models. The privatisation is taking place on faster place as there were proposals to develop on PPP mode. The CPI (M) opposes the budget in toto, he said.
Meanwhile, CPI city secretary Donepudi Sankar, at party’s praja chaitanaya yatra, said that the VMC was again planning to take another dose of loan from the Hudco. These moves would further push the Corporation into debt trap. The proposal to take Hudco loan was not realistic, he said, adding the CPI would lay siege to the VMC office on April 2 in protest against its policies.
