Ludhiana MC to present budget of Rs 1286 cr next week

The civic body is likely to propose a budget of around Rs 1286 crore for the year 2016-17, higher by Rs 483 crore as compared to past year, in the coming week.

The civic body is likely to propose a budget of around Rs 1286 crore for the year 2016-17, higher by Rs 483 crore as compared to past year, in the coming week.

The MC has announced to conduct a house meeting on March 28, while the mayor is already conducting meetings with councillors and officials in this regard.

As the MC had approved a proposal to increase tehbazari fee and license fee during the last house meeting, it is expecting to generate more income in this financial year. Besides, it would receive more than Rs 400 crore from state government for carrying out development works.

It is pertinent to mention here that the MC had proposed a budget of Rs 803 crore for 2015-16 but the government had approved only Rs 742 crore.

MC commissioner GK Singh Dhaliwal informed that they would focus more on construction and carpeting of roads this year. The MC has decided to re-carpet all roads which are in bad shape by June 30, he said.

He further informed that the MC had planned to spend Rs 130 crore for water supply, while they would ensure 100% installation of sewer system in city areas this year.

Talking about pending dues, Dhaliwal said that they would ensure recovery of pending amount from defaulters and utilise the money for development works.

“We plan to develop parks, libraries, roads, water-supply, sewerage system,”said.

A city resident, Sarbjit Singh said: “The MC should increase its annual budget by finding out resources to generate income so that the development work can be carried out in the city. The civic body has failed to pay attention to contaminated water supply and broken roads.”

“Instead of wasting money on unwanted projects, the MC should ensure safe drinking water and pothole-free roads,”he added.