City corpn aims to mop up Rs 501 crore tax revenue

Coimbatore: The city corporation deftly did a balancing act to maintain fiscal discipline in the absence of funds from the central government and even managed to show a surplus revenue, albeit meagre, the next financial year in the budget presented on Wednesday.
The budget had no major announcements or mammoth projects but projected a sizeable increase in tax revenue for the corporation, primarily from property tax to stabilise its fiscal health.

Buoyed by the increase in tax collection, the civic body has set a target of mopping up 73 % more tax revenue in the coming financial year. The fine print of the corporation budget says as against the tax revenue of Rs 288crore collected in 2018-19, it would collect Rs 501crore.

Overall, the corporation’s total revenue was estimated to be Rs 1,817crore while the proposed expenditure will be Rs 1,812 crores. Presenting the budget with a surplus revenue of Rs 4.75crore, corporation commissioner Sravan Kumar Jatavath said the additional revenue will be spent on multiple projects. But this year, like the past two years, there was no debate or discussion on the budget, thanks to the absence of an elected council.

The budget book, replete with tables and data, said the higher tax revenue would come from property tax, which the state government hiked over six months ago, water supply and drainage fund and elementary education tax.

On the expenditure front, the civic body has decided to invest some money to strengthen its own asset inventory. A sizeable chunk of its revenue, Rs 595crore, approximately accounting for 35 % of its income, will be spent on building fixed assets like office buildings, commercial complexes and bus stands.

The civic body has also earmarked its cash reserves for implementation of its lake rejuvenation project. The corporation plans to restore and rejuvenate semi-urban lakes Narasampathy, Selvachintamani, Krishnampathy, Selvampathy and Kumarasamy under the smart city mission. A sum of Rs 41crore has been allotted for the first phase.

It has also proposed to construct an indoor stadium at a cost of Rs 5crore at GV Residency area.

Thrust has also been given to restore Kurichi lake at the cost of Rs 25crore and micro composting centres at 59 more locations at a cost of Rs 18.63crore, the commissioner said.

The budget disappointed some residents, who were expecting major announcements. “The city is reeling under traffic congestion and in need of more road infra. But there were no announcements of that sort,” said former councillor SM Samy.

“It is good that the corporation wants to generate revenue by constructing commercial complexes and bus stands. But, they should follow all norms and analyse the need before constructing them,” said K Kathirmathiyon of Coimbatore Consumer Cause.