MUMBAI: In a major policy change, the BMC moved the Rs 650 crore of the corporators’ funds from its revenue budget to capital budget this year. This means distribution of freebies and recurring works being carried out by corporators from these funds will become more difficult.
According to officials, for many years the corporators’ funds were part of the revenue expenditure, which consists of salaries of staff and maintenance of BMC’s properties and projects.
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The BMC’s decision to move corporators’ funds to capital expenditure is a welcome move. At a time when the BMC is facing a cash crunch, it is surprising to see that corporators are going on a spending spree using civic funds to distribute freebies ranging from sewing machines to tarpaulin sheets. The BMC must seriously rethink whether it can afford to distribute such items to residents. The BMC must first focus on providing basic civic amenities like good roads and open spaces to citizens. Corporators’ funds must be used to create durable assets and civic amenities.
All new projects like roads, gardens, sewage plants and storm water drains are part of the capital expenditure in the budget.
Amid a controversy over the misuse of funds by corporators, the BMC administration slashed the standing committee’s amendment fund in this year’s budget by Rs 100 crore. This year, the standing committee has been allocated around Rs 650 crore compared to last year’s budget allocation of Rs 750 crore.
The standing committee passed the budget and accepted the Rs 650 crore despite the election year. A senior civic official said that standing committee chairman and Shiv Sena corporator Yashwant Jadhav had asked for around Rs 1,000 crore this year in view of the 2022 BMC polls. “However given the current financial crisis that the BMC is facing, we decided to curtail the spending. Only Rs 650 crore has been allocated,” a senior civic official said.
Despite falling revenues and a drop in income amid Covid-19, the BMC budget rose by 16.74% to Rs 39,038 crore from last year’s budget outlay of Rs 33,441 crore. The BMC’s capital expenditure has been pegged at a massive Rs 18,750 crore, compared to last year’s Rs 11,764 crore.