Mumbai:
The country' s richest civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) passed its annual budget on Wednesday.
The budget, which is larger than budgets of smaller states like Goa, saw an increase of nearly 25 per cent. The total size of the budget is Rs 31178.19 crore. The revenue income envisaged in the budget is Rs 22111.97 crore. With elections around the corner, even the BMC budget saw some populist measures.
The expenditure on roads has been doubled from last year. This year the budget for roads and traffic operations went up to Rs. 3138 crores from Rs 1554.17 crore last year. This is being seen as a result of the stinging criticism that the BMC faced after the Bombay High Court took up a suo moto PIL on the pathetic condition of the city's roads, especially during the monsoon. But with no major announcements on how the BMC plans to improve roads, there are concerns about how this money is going to be spent.
BMC Commissioner Sitaram Kunte told NDTV, "We plan to redevelop roads of 1250km. This will cost us Rs. 7700 crore. That is why we have increased the budget this year."
For the first time, the corporation has allotted over Rs. 500 crore for project management and consultancy services for heritage structures, municipal properties and the structural repairs, demolition and reconstruction of such establishments. This comes after the Dockyard Road building collapse in which many Mumbaikars lost their lives. The tragedy highlighted the urgency for a systematic structural audit of municipal properties.
On the many steps BMC is taking to make the city investor-friendly, BMC Commissioner Sitaram Kunte, said, "We are making an effort to make the citizens lives better. We are improving the cultural life of the citizens as well and these plans are weaved into the budget"
The BMC has also increased expenditure on education to Rs. 2658.34 crore from Rs. 1894.58 crore last year. The corporation wants to introduce semi-English pattern of education in more municipal schools. The programme will be rolled out in a phased manner in all 1150 municipal schools during next five years.
The BMC has also set aside Rs. 1 crore for construction of toilets for women in crowded areas. NDTV in the past one year has reported how women face problems due to lack of clean and hygienic sanitation facilities in Mumbai.
The corporation has set aside Rs 2906.73 crores for health and medical services. This expenditure is also up from 2129.99 crore last year.
The BMC also plans to spend Rs. 7923.08 crore for extension of services to urban poor which includes programmes like development of facilities for slum dwellers etc. A special provision of Rs. 15 crore has been made for implementation of various schemes for women.