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Pune BJP likely to present civic budget for next financial year, set to be flashpoint in ruling-opposition battle
Given that the current general body has only six days to approve the budget before its term ends on March 14, it is going to be tough for the ruling BJP to get the budget approved
PUNE As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is exploring options to present the annual budget for next year (2022-2023) before their tenure ends and before the house is dissolved, the move is likely to put the party in confrontation against the opposition ahead of civic polls most likely scheduled in April.
The five-year term for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) general body house tenure will end on March 14, while municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar is likely to table the draft budget in the standing committee on March 8.
As per the process, the municipal commissioner first presents the draft budget and hands it over to the standing committee, which discusses all the provisions and prepares the final budget, which is then approved by the general body. Usually, the process takes two to three weeks.
This time, given that the current general body has only six days to approve the budget before its term ends on March 14, it is going to be tough for the ruling BJP to get the budget approved.
At the same time, BJP sees an opportunity to present the budget for the next year against the interim budget for three months.
“As municipal elections have been delayed due to various reasons including Covid-19 pandemic, Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation, the ruling BJP party has got a chance to prepare the budget for the next financial year,” said a BJP member.
A BJP leader, on request of anonymity, said, “We are checking the option whether it is possible to present the next financial budget immediately after municipal commissioner’s budget presentation is over. There is some process that after getting budget, standing committee members meet and empower chairman to prepare the final budget. After the preparation of the budget, a new booklet gets published and the standing committee chairman uses it to present the budget for the general body meeting. This means after commissioner’s budget, the standing committee will need to call a meeting to empower chairman and later that one more meeting to present budget.”
BJP sources said they can introduce some popular schemes before the announcement of the model code of conduct.
Earlier it was expected that the model code of conduct may come into force from March 10, but as Supreme Court, on Thursday, refused to accept the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission report, the government may not appoint an administrator before the PMC general body’s term ends.
NCP city unit president Prashant Jagtap said, “We have appointed two senior members on the standing committee whose tenure will start from March 4. They will ensure that BJP will not run the show as they wish.”
