Thiruvananthapuram: With the code of conduct coming into effect following declaration of legislative assembly elections, the corporation has been caught in a bind over getting the budget for 2021-22 passed.
The civic body scheduled a discussion on proposals on March 1 and 2 before the election date was announced. The budget was presented on Thursday. Corporation secretary Binu Francis has forwarded a letter seeking guidance on the matter to chief electoral officer. The letter will be referred to the election commission via the state government. Mayor AryaRajendran will convene an emergency all-party meeting on Monday.
"We are awaiting a written communication from the election commission. We have been told that we may not be able to present and discuss the budget proposals and make changes. In that scenario, we will have to get the accounts passed to run the corporation till code of conduct is lifted," said Rajendran.
As per relevant sections of Kerala Municipality act, the council shall finally pass the budget estimate before the beginning of the financial year and submit copies to the government and the officer authorized by the government and to the auditors. The Act says that unless the council passes the budget before April 1, from that date onwards, no amount shall be expended from the municipal fund.
Deputy mayor P K Raju presented a budget expecting a revenue of Rs 1490.37 crore and an expenditure of Rs 1359.59 crore. The surplus was estimated as Rs 130.77 crore.
It is most likely that only the budget estimates shall be cleared by the council on Monday and no discussion on budget proposals will be taken up. The introductory speech by the mayo, which is included in the budget document, lists down a series of achievements by the LDF government in the past five years. BJP parliamentary party leader P Ashok Kumar said that they have serious reservations about the figures presented in the budget. "Due to the code of conduct, we are not in a position to raise the anomalies in budget figures. We will go by the norms if budget estimates are to be passed," he said.
Raju had projected lower revenue receipts in the budget for 2021-22 which was uncharacteristic because usually higher estimates in revenue income are presented in the budget. The district panchayat had presented the budget and got it passed on the same day following discussion earlier this week.
The corporation budget for 2021-22 featured 117 proposals with focus on women empowerment, waste management and agriculture. If the proposals are put on hold, the highlight projects on waste management will also be delayed in the city.