Karnataka - Mangalore   

Surplus budget for city corporation

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE, MAY 31. The city corporation council passed a surplus budget for 2004-05 on Monday. The expenditure is estimated at Rs. 62.58 crore and the expected receipts are Rs. 62.61 crore. The surplus is Rs. 2.85 lakh.

Presenting the budget, K. Krishnappa Mendon, Chairman of the Finance Committee of the council, said steps would be taken to increase the revenue from various taxes, including that on property, to Rs. 11.75 crore. The corporation was expecting Rs. 3.50 crore under the special component receipts. A sum of Rs. 1.15 crore was expected from non-revenue sources such as rent and cess on corporation properties. Various other sources, including fee receipts, were expected to fetch Rs. 2.20 crore. Steps would be taken to collect the water-bill arrears of Rs. 16 crore.

The corporation expected Rs. 10 crore as salary grant from the State Government and Rs. 7 crore from leasing and improving the value of its properties and from joint ventures with private enterprises.

Mr. Mendon said Rs. 11.43 crore had been reserved to meet the capital expenditure and Rs. 21.23 crore towards taking up civil works under that category. A reserve fund of Rs. 51.15 crore had been set up to pay salaries, meet recurring expenses, and fund maintenance of streetlights and management of the underground drainage and water supply systems. A special revenue component had been created to manage solid wastes, he added.

The budget proposals show that Rs. 2.2 crore has been earmarked for paying the electricity bills of streetlights. The expenditure on improving the streetlight system, including erection of high-mast lamps at Suratkal junction, Circuit House Circle at Kadri, and other places, was estimated at Rs. 3.48 crore.

The budget has earmarked Rs. 9.5 crore towards water supply in the city. The money will be utilised to pay the electricity bills of the pumping stations and the purification plants.

As a cost-saving exercise, the budget has proposed reopening the underground drainage circuit of the old Mangalore municipality area (24 sq. km). Mr. Mendon said the corporation might have to employ new machinery for the purpose. However, this would save the cost involved in setting up a new drainage system and stop the municipal waste from being let out into the storm-water drains.

The outlay for the maintenance of the underground drainage system was Rs. 1.23 crore, he added.

Maintenance and concreting of various roads, including the stretches between Lady Hill and Urva Stores and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus stand and Circuit House, will also be taken up during the year. The Surathkal-Kana-Krishnapur road will be widened to four lanes.

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