At Rs 1,275 crore, municipal budget touches new high

AURANGABAD: The general body of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation continued this year’s trend of inflating the civic budget and added Rs 165 crore to the balancesheet approved earlier.
On Saturday, the general body passed a Rs 1,275 crore budget, making it the highest-ever for the civic body. Mayor Bapu Ghadamode earmarked funds for various schemes and projects after taking in suggestions and demands of corporators cutting across the party lines.
“Many projects that were added to the previous budgets but could not be implemented due to paucity of funds. They have been added in the 2017-18 budget. Apart from this, I am also making a special provision for some projects considering demand for various sections of the society,” he said.
Expressing concern over the city’s solid waste management system, Ghadamode spared Rs 20 crore for setting up new garbage processing units. He also allotted Rs 5 crore for erecting gates on main roads approaching the city; Rs 3 crore for building a swimming pool; Rs 2 crore for building badminton courts dedicated to women; Rs 5 crore to develop gymnasiums in gardens, Rs 2crore for a multi speciality hospital and Rs 5 crore for building a Warkari Bhawan (for pilgrims) among other projects.
Realising the necessity of setting up an administrative block of the civic body in Satara Devlai area, Ghadamode earmarked Rs 10 crore for it. Further to address water scarcity, he spared Rs 5 crore so that the municipal body can install reverse osmosis water treatment plants on various public wells.
However, while doing so, Ghadamode had to stretch revenue generation of the civic body. Setting new targets for revenue generations, he increased local body tax collection from Rs 300 crore to Rs 325 crore; property tax collection figures from Rs 300 crore to Rs 370 crore and annual collection of town planning department from Rs 125 crore to Rs 150 crore. He said “systematic and timely planning” could help the municipal body achieve the new targets.
Showing faith in BJP-led state government, Ghadamode also set a new target of government funding. He raised the amount from Rs 96 crore to Rs 106 and added Rs 20 crore in collection of water charges. The civic will have to collect Rs 147 crore in place of Rs 127 crore on account of water charges.
Standing committee chairman Mohan Meghawale had recently added projects worth Rs 160 crore to the budget proposed by the municipal administration taking it to Rs 1,110 crore from Rs 950 crore.