The Hindu : Front Page : New welfare schemes in Corporation budget

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Sunday, Feb 22, 2009
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New welfare schemes in Corporation budget

Staff Reporter

— Photo: K. Pichumani

MONEY MATTERS: Taxation and Finance Committee chairperson Radha Sambandan, on her way to present the Corporation Budget, on Saturday. Mayor M.Subramanian is in the picture.

Chennai: A host of new welfare schemes in the fields of education and healthcare and proposals for new facilities, including an auditorium in Mylapore and a multi-speciality hospital in Alwarpet, figure in the Chennai Corporation budget for 2009-10.

It was presented at the council meeting on Saturday by Radha Sambandan, Chairperson of the Committee on Taxation and Finance of the Corporation.

Addressing the council, Mayor M.Subramanian said the civic body would launch mechanised cleaning of important roads in six zones and issue health cards to five lakh slum dwellers.

A project for reclamation and restoration of landfill sites at the Perungudi and Kodungaiyur garbage dump yards would be initiated. Experts in the field would be identified for the project, which would be on a ‘design, build, operate, maintain and transfer’ basis. Various public facilities, including the Victoria Public Hall and the Communicable Diseases Hospital in Tondiarpet, would be renovated and modernised.

The budget document said the increase in property tax collection in the current fiscal would be over 12 per cent and as per the revised estimate, the property tax collection would be Rs.320 crore. The tax collection is expected to be Rs.350 crore in 2009-10.

Mr.Subramanian said tax rates would not be increased. The professional tax collection is estimated to be Rs.85 crore in the coming financial year. The budget projects a revenue of Rs.1,613.24 crore and an expenditure of Rs.1,614.38 crore for the financial year. A lion’s share of the revenue expenditure of Rs.975.08 crore would go towards personnel costs, including salaries and wages, terminal and retirement benefits. Revenue expenditure on personnel costs would be Rs.421.73 crore. On terminal and retirement benefits, it would be Rs.183.35 crore.

Ms.Sambandan said that the revenue receipt would be Rs.979.02 crore. The capital receipt would be Rs.442.11 crore and the capital expenditure Rs.518.75 crore. The allocation for capital works is Rs.518.75 crore, about Rs.113 crore more than the previous year’s allocation. The capital expenditure on roads will be Rs.176 crore.

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