Belagavi corporation presents Rs.11.96 lakh surplus budget

Belagavi City Corporation's chairperson for Taxation, Finance & Appeals Sanjyot Sunil Bandekar presented a surplus budget for 2016-17 on Tuesday. Photo: P.K. Badiger

The Belagavi City Corporation (BCC) presented a Rs.11.96 lakh surplus budget for 2016-17 at the council meeting on Tuesday that was presided over by the newly elected Mayor Sarita Viraj Patil.

The budget was unanimously approved after a formal appreciation of the proposals and ‘hard work’ carried out by the members of the Standing Committee for Taxation, Finance & Appeals headed by Sanjyot Sunil Bandekar and the officials of the Corporation by Floor Leader of the ruling group Pandhari Pundalik Parab and MLA Feroz N. Sait.

Ms.Bandekar, while presenting the budget estimates, said the projected revenue receipts from rentals, property taxes and other sources was Rs.357.95 crore, which included a record of Rs.50 crore revenue from property tax alone. She said the projected expenditure was Rs.357.83 crore

The BCC expected Rs.42.192 crore salary grants, Rs.46.60 crore from water supply management and electricity bills (present and arrears), and Rs.24.99 crore for development works under the State Finance Commission (SFC) from the government. An allocation of Rs.16.56 crore has been made under the 14th Finance General Basic Grant to be released by the state government for execution of works and other activities.

Development works

The budget proposes to spend Rs.16.58 crore on drinking water supply works (20 per cent), community toilets (15 per cent), underground drainage and storm water drains (15 per cent), parks and community assets (15 per cent), roads and footpaths (15 per cent), street lights (15 per cent), and maintenance of office and crematoria (10 per cent). It has also been proposed to construct an annex building adjacent to the existing corporation building at the cost of Rs.3 crore, while Rs.4.50 crore will be spent on restoration of commercial complexes and markets in open lands, Rs.1 crore on installation of Dr.B.R. Ambedkar’s life size statue along with a mini-garden within the BCC premises.

A sum of Rs.14.50 crore has been earmarked for taking up various development works worth Rs.25 lakh in each of the 58 wards, Rs.25 lakh on new bus shelters, Rs.50 lakh on developing urban forestry, Rs.50 lakh for maintenance of slum areas, Rs.64.21 crore on new drinking water supply works such as bore wells and pump sets with electricity connections.

An allocation of Rs.11.11 crore has been made for welfare and development of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes colonies during the year, Rs.3.34 crore for the welfare and development of backward classes and Rs.1.38 crore for physically handicapped persons.