With the financial crunch looming large on the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC), Mayor Koneru Sridhar has underlined the need for measures to increase the revenue, dropping enough hints at revision of house tax in the city.
“The corporation generates annual revenue of around Rs.74 crore from taxes, but almost same amount is being spent on collection and dumping of garbage of more than 450 tonnes that the city generates everyday.
As many as 3,990 staff, 20 lorries and 15 tractors have been engaged on a daily basis for lifting garbage and it is a herculean task,” he said while addressing at the Vijayawada Walkers Association “Navvu-Nadaka” book release programme here on Sunday.
Every day, the M.G.Road is swept thrice and yet there are many complaints on piling of garbage. Residents dump trash in the colony drains and on the streets. This not only creates unhygienic conditions but gives bad impression about the city.
It is the responsibility of residents to dump trash to garbage bins near their houses, said Mr. Sridhar. Vijayawada Central MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao urged the residents to participate in the ongoing ‘Swacch Bharat campaign’ to keep their colonies clean. He admitted that there were not many amenities for walkers at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation grounds and said the damaged walking tracks would be repaired soon.
Speaking about “Navvu-Nadaka”, Vijayawada Walkers Association president B. Nagamalleswara Rao said the magazine would be published once in three months and would be supplied to members free of cost. The objective was to help walkers in maintaining good mental and physical health. Apart from Ayurvedic and other health tips, there will be jokes, news and other information in the book, he added.
