The municipal corporation (MC) has reported a significant decrease in revenue collection for the financial year 2023-2024 compared to the last fiscal. According to official data, the civic body’s income saw a decline of approximately ₹44 crore during the period, impacting its functioning.
The income dropped from ₹751 crore in 2022-23 to ₹707 crore in 2023-23.
The MC meanwhile approved an annual budget of ₹990.7 crore for the 2024-25 financial during a meeting of the technical advisory committee held under the chairpersonship of municipal commissioner Sandeep Rishi. Last year’s sanctioned budget was lower at ₹937 crore.
In the financial year 2023-24, the civic body collected ₹41.65 crore under the water supply wing against ₹65.08 crore in 2022-23. The VAT/GST received from the government also dropped ₹44.42 crore.
The major drop in both water supply and VAT/GST collections resulted in salaries of the Class 4 employees being delayed for months.
The shortfall in revenue also posed significant challenges for the MC, with essential functions and delivery of public services being affected. Infrastructure projects, maintenance activities and civic amenities may, observers said, may face further constraints due to the reduced financial resources.
Addressing the issue, municipal commissioner Sandeep Rishi said, “The major drop was witnessed on VAT/GST and the reduced collection of water supply bills. The department is working actively in collecting the money on the lines of the property tax collection, where we overshot the set target.”
{{/usCountry}}Addressing the issue, municipal commissioner Sandeep Rishi said, “The major drop was witnessed on VAT/GST and the reduced collection of water supply bills. The department is working actively in collecting the money on the lines of the property tax collection, where we overshot the set target.”
{{/usCountry}}The building regularisation fee and composition fee total dropped ₹49 crore and ₹22.52 crore respectively.
Bringing in some joy, ₹137.7 crore was collected as house/property tax compared to ₹122.45 crore from the 2022-23 financial. Besides, excise duty also saw an increase in collection as did the municipal tax.
Also bucking the trend, the collection in the development or change of land use fee went up with the MC drawing ₹85 crore in 2023-24 against a paltry ₹11.72 crore in 2022-23.