Cash-strapped Lucknow Municipal to cut corporator fund

LUCKNOW: With severe cash crisis glaring at

Lucknow Municipal Corporation

because of poor tax recovery last year, corporator fund has been deducted by 40%. This is set to hit local development work in every ward.


LMC’s executive committee had decided in February’s meeting to allocate Rs 95 lakh to every corporator for development work in a ward. However, the first instalment issued by

LMC

this month is much less than the proposed allocation. This has irked corporators so much that it will form the main agenda of the upcoming executive committee meeting on May 26.

The matter came to the fore in the budget meeting in March when documents showed Rs 60 crore allocated in the name of corporator’s fund. This meant that each of the 110 wards of Lucknow would get Rs 54 lakh each. This amount is 60% of the total allocation announced in February. LMC

House

had strongly objected at that time and corporators had demanded an immediate rectification.

But in May, LMC released Rs 27 lakh each as the first instalment of the fund. Going by the proposed allocation, it should be around Rs 32 lakh each. The corporators opposed the cheque and called for an executive committee meeting on May 26.

Corporators have complained that with funds shrinking, the impending development and repair work in wards—be it roads, drains, sewer lines, streetlights or parks-—would be hit.

Mayor

Sanyukta Bhatia

, however, said her team was working on measures to improve tax collection by September to give the promised allocation to the corporators.

“We will have a revised budget meeting in September to adjust the pending allocation to corporators after we improve on collection,” she said.