Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee presented the KMC Budget for the year 2015-16 on Thursday.
The Kolkata Mayor has strained the frayed KMC coffers to increase expenditure on three fronts: water supply , solid waste management and slum development. In fact, with the focus being on the basic infrastructure, less money has been allotted for beautification and parks.
Development has been made in solid waste management by installing compactor stations under the Clean City Project, working towards freeing the roads of vats, which are more often than not, spill over with piles of garbage. But water supply has remained a cause of concern in pockets along E M Bypass, and vast stretches of Tollygunge, Behala, Jadavpur, Garden Reach, where the Trinamool holds sway . The civic board has also spent the least when it came to water supply to slums. The KMC is now expecting an additional Rs 123 crore from the Municipal Development Fund of the state government, which will be used to speed up capacity augmentation of the Garden Reach water treatment plant to soothe nerves. The projected expenditure, said a source, had shot up by Rs 557 crore, though revenue generation has not witnessed any significant rise.
The Mayor has also announced a waiver on property tax interest, to collect outstanding revenues. The Mayor hopes to earn an additional Rs 100 crore on the property tax front, after the interest waiver policy. With the property tax being the corporation’s mainstay , the KMC has been targeting major tax defaulters.
Allotments in the KMC Budget 2015-16:
2015-16 allocation for Water Supply: Rs 324.92 crore.
2015-16 allocation for Lighting and Electrification: Rs 107.67 crore.
2015-16 allocation for Social Welface and Urban Poverty Alleviation: Rs 14.43 crore.
2015-16 allocation for Slum Development: Rs 136.38 crore.
2015-16 allocation for Parks and Squares: Rs 38.50 crore.
2015-16 allocation for Drainage: Rs 223.42 crore.
2015-16 allocation for Education: Rs 33.22 crore.
2015-16 allocation for Health: Rs 130.43 crore.