Nagpur: On a day when mayor Sandip Joshi held a virtual press conference and informed the media about BJP fulfilling its property tax and water bill rebate promise, municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B informed a delegation of Congress corporators that Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has no funds to implement announcements made in the standing committee chairman Vijay Zalke’s Rs2,731 crore budget, claimed Congress leaders.
Congress corporators, led by leader of opposition Tanaji Wanve and senior party corporator Praful Gudadhe, met Radhakrishnan on Tuesday to press for the demand to provide funds for urgent civic works like repair of sewerage lines and chambers. “Radhakrishnan clarified with the current financial position, the NMC cannot spend even a single penny on the works,” said Wanve while speaking to media persons.
According to Wanve, the civic chief cited that NMC is yet to pay Rs400 crore outstanding dues to various contractors, who had carried out developmental works. “The municipal commissioner admitted that though the civic administration has implemented Zalke’s budget, but provision of funds will be made only after revision of the budget in February 2021.”
Due to Covid-19 pandemic, Zalke had presented the NMC budget for the year 2020-21 almost after a delay of seven months. Presented in October, the civic chief has approved and implemented the budget from November. However, the civic administration is not providing funds to carry out even urgent works like repairs of damaged chambers and sewerage networks etc.
Understanding the financial crisis being faced by the civic body, the Congress corporators urged the civic chief to at least release ward funds from which urgent works could be carried out. “But this suggestion too was turned down by the municipal commissioner. Radhakrishnan said all decisions related to making provision of funds could be done only after improvement in the NMC’s financial condition. Moreover, implementation of the seventh pay commission recommendations for NMC staffers has also created an additional burden of Rs200 crore on the civic body,” said Wanve, while disclosing what transpired during the corporators’ meeting with the civic chief.
Radhakrishnan, however, assured to carry out developmental works once the NMC has sufficient funds.