The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has revealed its budget for the fiscal year 2024-25, anticipating a deficit of ₹118 crore, a staggering tenfold increase compared to the ₹10.71 crore projected deficit of the previous fiscal year.
The projected revenue for the upcoming fiscal year stands at ₹3,182.21 crore, while the estimated expenditure is ₹3,300.43 crore, covering a total of 133 projects. The majority of these projects fall under the engineering (49), education (28), and public health (28) departments. The projected revenue has seen a rise of approximately ₹100 crore, mainly attributed to the expected increase in tax revenue collection.
A senior official from the revenue department of CCMC expressed confidence in exceeding the tax revenue collection target by 15% this year. “The current collection, as of March 1, is ₹362 crore. This is an increase from ₹320 crore collected this time last year. Our target is ₹522 crore of which ₹120 crore is collectable,” the official said.
The increase in projected deficit for the upcoming fiscal year is primarily due to additional expenditures earmarked for the education and engineering departments. The Education Department has been allocated around ₹100 crore, a significant increase from the previous year’s ₹20 crore. Similarly, the Engineering Department’s allocation has increased from ₹1,356 crore to ₹1,410 crore.
The civic body has secured loans amounting to ₹272.3 crore for the new fiscal year, a decrease from ₹503.26 crore in the previous year. Repayment of secured loans in the budget has been allocated ₹112 crore, compared to ₹111 crore in the previous year.
The primary focus of this budget was on engineering works, highlighted by 49 new projects. These include the construction of three homeless shelters amounting to ₹5 crore, improvements and removal of encroachments along the Sanganoor canal totalling ₹4.9 crore, transformation of the V.O.C Zoo into an open-air classroom for competitive exam preparation, costing ₹75 lakh, and the installation of solar panels for Pilloor-II and III and sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Ukkadam, Nanjundapuram, Ondipudur, and Vellalore, with a combined budget exceeding ₹105 crore.
This follows the civic body’s initiative last year, which saw the installation of a floating solar power plant in Ukkadam lake at a cost of ₹1.20 crore.
In the realm of education, which garnered acclaim from councillors, the civic body has integrated fine arts training in music, Bharatanatyam, and Silambam, each allocated a budget of ₹25 lakh. Additionally, sponsorship of tuition fees, amounting to ₹25,000 per student enrolled at either NIT or IIT, has been instituted. The budget also encompasses industrial visits for students and the provision of evening snacks in schools, with a total allocation of ₹100 lakh for the year.
Three AIADMK councillors staged a walkout after the Budget presentation, stating that, “The budget is useless and does not include anything new. Not much has been said about Vellalore dumpyard, the promotion of sports in the schools or hiring staff for urban welness centres,” said R. Prabhakaran, Ward 48 councillor.
Published - March 08, 2024 06:27 pm IST
