Unified municipal body prepares its first budget

The unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is preparing its first budget, according to sources. A draft budget has been prepared and is awaiting final approval by the commissioner and the special officer of the MCD, a senior official said.

The official added that the unified budget for the year 2022-23 is a collation of the budget estimates of the three erstwhile corporations — North, South and East — that were released earlier this year.

“As of now, there are no new provisions in the budget. We have simply combined the three earlier budgets and made a few changes,” the official said.

According to the budget estimates of the erstwhile civic bodies for the financial year 2022-23, the estimated expenditure of North, South and East civic corporations was ₹7504.91 crore, ₹4,830.57 crore and ₹4,735.77 crore respectively. Proposals to increase property tax rates in the erstwhile civic bodies were rejected.

Meanwhile, another MCD official said a document to establish a uniform tax rate in the unified MCD was likely to be placed before the special officer and commissioner in the coming week.