The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) budget for 2017-18 envisages a slew of development works to make the city pothole free, besides creating infrastructure for solid waste management.
Fresh efforts will be made to secure Mysuru’s status of as the ‘heritage city’, even as urban forestry programmes will be taken up in a big way to ensure that the city is not only clean but also green.
The budget, presented here on Friday, has projected revenue of ₹869.53 crore against expenditure of ₹864.83 crore. A total of ₹153.2 crore has been earmarked for road repair and other works. This divides into ₹126.5 crore for laying new roads and ₹26.70 crore for scientific repair and asphalting of roads and potholes.
The budget, which was presented by K.V. Mallesh, chairman of the MCC Committee on Taxation, Finance and Appeals, has set aside ₹72.11 crore for solid waste management, for which new infrastructure will be established. A detailed project report has been finalised and ₹53.7 crore has been earmarked for establishing two new facilities.
While a new facility to handle 150 tonnes of solid waste a day will come up at Rayanakere, another with a capacity of 200 tonnes will be established at Kesare. Besides, the capacity of the existing solid waste treatment plant at Vidyaranyapuram will be raised. The DPR has already been submitted to the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation for approval. At present, the city generates nearly 402 tonnes of waste a day, of which 145 tonnes is being dumped in landfills. The new facilities are expected to take care of this waste.
The revenue by way of property tax has been pegged at ₹175.12 crore, down from nearly ₹200 crore projected in the last year’s budget. But by the end of December 2016, the MCC had realised only ₹84.67 crore.
As part of urban greening and forestry, the civic body has held talks with the Forest Department and will hand over 400 lawns and parks in its jurisdiction to the latter. The allocation for urban greenery and park development through the department is ₹20.87 crore.
To restore lakes that are not fed by canals or rivers, ₹20 crore has been set aside to create rainwater harvesting systems to replenish the lakes in the low-lying areas.
Let there be more light
Heritage-style lamp posts are set to adorn key roads in the city.
They will be installed along Ashoka Road, from Chamaraja Circle to Nehru Circle. LED lights will be used to embellish them. In addition to this, tube lights and sodium vapour lamps will be replaced by LED lights across the city, for which ₹14.17 crore has been earmarked in the MCC budget.
The corporation building, which is a heritage structure, will have permanent illumination at a cost of ₹2.5 crore.
Other budgetary announcements include e-toilets at a cost of ₹1 crore to minimise water consumption, a street dog rescue centre on five acres at Rayanakere Hundi to house diseased and stray dogs, steps to ensure the city is free of stray pigs, incinerators to dispose of animal waste, and celebration of 155 years of the MCC by felicitating outstanding individuals for their contribution to the city.
Going digital
The MCC plans to go paperless this year, with funds allocated for a digital revamp.
To modernise and provide Internet facilities, ₹75 lakh has been set aside in the budget. The bulk of paperwork is generated in the accounts section, which will now be fully digitized. Laptops and Internet facility will be provided to all MCC councillors and heads of departments. Details of the MCC Council agenda and proceedings to be furnished to the standing committee heads have to be submitted online from now.
