With just a year left for the civic body elections, Ludhiana municipal corporation has proposed a surplus budget for the upcoming financial year (2022-23). Even as it has failed to meet the recovery targets for the current year, the Ludhiana MC is expecting a surplus of ₹2 crore, with its income pegged at ₹1,034 crore and expenditure estimated to be around ₹1,032 crore.
The budget estimates are to be tabled in the General House meeting, scheduled for March 28 at Guru Nanak Bhawan, for clearance. This will be the first House meeting in the city after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) formed government in the state. AAP MLAs from the city are also set to participate in the meeting.
Where money comes from
Under the head of incomes, it has been proposed that the MC will get ₹550 crore as share of GST from the state government, ₹130 crore by recovery of property tax, ₹100 crore by recovery of water-sewer user charges, ₹22.50 crore as advertisement tax, ₹47 crore as regularisation fee of buildings, ₹24 crore from change of land use (CLU), ₹45 crore from additional excise duty etc.
Where money goes
{{/usCountry}}Where money goes
{{/usCountry}}As per the proposal, 48.65% of the budget will go towards development works, 48.44% towards establishment (salaries etc) and 2.91% on miscellaneous/contingency expenses. The MC has earmarked ₹100 crore for road repairs and recarpeting, ₹100 crore for maintenance of streets and drains, ₹10 crore on development/maintenance of parks, ₹130 crore will be set aside for the operation and maintenance cell (O&M) cell which deals with water supply and sewer lines, ₹2.5 crore for purchase of machinery while ₹1 crore will be for slum areas etc.
Recovery target hiked despite failure in meeting targets
Even as the property tax wing and O&M cell have failed to meet the recovery targets for the current year, the MC has increased the recovery targets for both the departments in the proposed budget for 2022-23. Against the target of ₹110 crore, the property tax wing has recovered around ₹85 crore so far while the target for the next year has been increased to ₹130 crore. Similarly, the O&M cell has recovered around ₹40 crore against the target of ₹90 crore while the target for the next year has been increased to ₹100 crore.
MC approved ₹1,064 budget last year
Last year, the MC house had approved a budget of ₹1,064 crore but only ₹992 crore was sanctioned by the government. The House had earmarked 55.46% of the amount for development, 42.26% on establishment including salaries and 2.28% for miscellaneous expenditure. Eyeing the 2022 assembly elections, the MC had earmarked ₹150 crore for roads, ₹108 crore for streets, ₹10 crore for parks, 135 crore for operations and maintenance, ₹1.50 crore for purchase of machinery and one crore for slums. The MC budget was also revised by around ₹145 crore in the month of December to facilitate development works ahead of elections.
All-party meeting on Saturday
Ahead of the House meeting, mayor Balkar Sandhu is expected to conduct an all-party meet on Saturday (March 26) to discuss the points of budget and deliberate with councillors for smooth proceedings.
MC to avail ₹100 crore loan
To appease voters ahead of 2023 civic body elections, the MC is expected to take up a number of development projects in the city through the year, for which it plans to avail a loan of ₹100 crore. As per information, the MC has already got the loan approved from the bank and will avail it before March 31.