Ghaziabad civic body freezes development works due to fund crunch

Sources said that an amount of ₹491 crore is yet to be received from the Uttar Pradesh government on account of IDF till the end of financial year 2021-22. According to the existing norms, a 2% surcharge is levied when residents pay stamp duties on sale deeds and the amount is meant to be spent on local infrastructure development

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation has put a freeze on new developmental works and will only carry out projects for which work orders have been already issued. The civic body is presently facing a fund crunch and has mounting liabilities to the tune of ₹330 crore, according to official sources, while incoming revenues have not kept pace with the rising expenditure.

Ghaziabad, India - September 28, 2022: A view of the Municipal Corporation office at Navyug Market, in Ghaziabad, India, on Wednesday, September 28, 2022. (Photo by Sakib Ali /Hindustan Times)

The councillors who are preparing to face local body elections by the end of the year are annoyed with this development. According to sources in the corporation, the liabilities of the civic agency have accrued on account of different works which were taken up since the past one year. The shortfall in revenues also led to non-payment to contractors while incoming revenues on account of infrastructure development fund (IDF) has also dried up, sources added.

Sources said that civic body officials have written to state officials on May 10, 2018 and also on July 15, 2019, for immediate release of IDF funds, but to no avail.

“The issue of increasing liability is an outcome of over-budgeting. We will only pursue those developmental works for which work orders have been issued. Our incoming funds have also hit a roadblock due to the stoppage of IDF,” said Nitin Gaur, Ghaziabad municipal commissioner, who took over charge from Mahendra Singh Tanwar recently.

When contacted, corporation’s accounts officer Rajesh Kumar Gautam said that the breakup of present liabilities is not readily available with him.

The councillors on the other hand say that civic body officials are solely responsible for the present situation and pending works in around 100 residential wards are being held up due to the paucity of funds.

“Construction/repair of roads, drainage and other civic infrastructure works are pending. We have to face local residents in our wards and they keep asking us about the pending projects. Last year, the board approved ₹80 lakh worth developmental works for each ward but the full amount is yet to be paid. This year (on May 21), it was decided that ₹ 60 lakh will be given to each ward but funds have not been released as of today,” said Rajendra Tyagi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor from Raj Nagar.

“The incoming funds have almost dried up. One of the major revenue sources for the civic body is IDF and about ₹500 crore is pending,” Tyagi added.

Sources said that an amount of ₹491 crore is yet to be received from the Uttar Pradesh government on account of IDF till the end of financial year 2021-22.

According to the existing norms, a 2% surcharge is levied when residents pay stamp duties on sale deeds and the amount is meant to be spent on local infrastructure development.

The civic agency earned about ₹835.85 crore during the period 2010-11 to 2021-22, while it received only ₹344.08 crore as IDF.

The BJP councillor from Kavi Nagar, Himanshu Mittal, has already moved the high court and filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in order to press upon the state government to release the IDF on an immediate basis.

In its latest order on September 22, the high court granted two-week time to the state government to respond. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 10.

“In the past several years, many projects which provided little or no utility were taken up and this, including non-receipt of IDF, has contributed to the increasing liability of the civic agency. Councillors have requested a special session on ways to increase revenue many times, but officials are not paying heed. Moreover, they have attempted to increase property tax and licence fees, etc., which directly hurts the common man,” Mittal added.