The Hindu : Front Page : BBMP in financial trouble

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Monday, Mar 17, 2008
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BBMP in financial trouble

S. Rajendran

It has no funds even for basic infrastructure development

Bangalore: Amid all the talk and grandiose plans seeking to develop the Bangalore metropolitan agglomeration akin to some noted cities worldwide, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has hit a roadblock of a different kind: lack of funds for even basic infrastructure development.

“We just do not have the money for infrastructure development. The revenue of the BBMP will just suffice to meet the establishment costs apart from the cost involved for some maintenance work. The onus is now on the Government to provide special grants to enable the BBMP to undertake some major works,” sources in the mahanagara palike told The Hindu.

The BBMP has one of the poorest per capita revenue generation among the municipal corporations in the country and this has been adduced as one of the main reasons coming in the way of meeting the expectations of the people. According to a recent report of the Reserve Bank of India on municipal finances, the per capita revenue generation in Bangalore is only Rs. 810 compared to Rs. 3,417 of the Greater Mumbai Corporation, Rs. 1,890 in Pune, Rs. 2,344 in Nasik, Rs. 2,577 in Surat, Rs. 1,029 in Indore, Rs. 1,385 in Chennai, Rs. 1,178 in Kolkata and Rs. 1,233 in Baroda. Only Kochi with Rs. 858 comes close to Bangalore. The per capita revenue generation in New Delhi is Rs. 872, but the Delhi corporation receives special grants from both the Delhi Government and the Union Government.

It is in this connection that Governor Rameshwar Thakur has called a high-level meeting this week reportedly to look into the financial needs of BBMP.

Several former Congress legislators of Bangalore, including M.R. Seetharam (Malleswaram), Dinesh Gundu Rao (Gandhinagar) and B. Prasanna Kumar, upset with the shoddy treatment to Bangalore in the State Budget, are stated to have raised the issue with the Governor, and the latter in turn promised that the interests of Bangalore would not be neglected.

As per a CRISIL report submitted to the Kumaraswamy government last year, BBMP and BWSSB require Rs. 33,000 crore for infrastructure development, and towards this the State should provide Rs. 20,000 crore over the next few years. The remaining funds should be raised through public-private partnerships.

Compared to special grants of Rs. 350 crore provided in the last Budget and Rs. 500 crore promised for works under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (in 2007), this year’s Budget has set apart Rs. 357 crore under JNNURM. The BBMP has to bear 50 per cent of the cost for schemes undertaken under JNNURM.

The BBMP, which had a Budget plan of Rs. 3,300 crore for 2007-08 could just net a revenue of around Rs. 1,700 crore, including some special grants from the Government and raising additional revenues through advertising (Rs. 100 crore) and the licence fee for sanction of building plans (Rs. 70 crore).

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