Palike clueless even after Rs 300 crore special grants

Palike clueless even after Rs 300 crore special grants
By Basavaraj Itnaal, DH News Service, Bangalore:
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa was generous with the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) when he allocated a special grant of Rs 300 crore in his budget on Wednesday. But the civic body has more loose ends than it would like...


For, the BBMP budget 2008-09 had proposed revenue expenses of Rs 1672.09 crore and capital expenses of Rs 1246.62 crore at a total outlay of Rs 2918.71 crore. Of the budgeted revenue expenses, Rs 1048 crore was supposed to be spent on works which had spilled over from earlier budget years. With zero property tax collection and Rs 800 crore loans to repay, Rs 300 crore may not be of much help to BBMP. The Palike had demanded Rs 1100 crore from State budget.

Due to lack of clarity on CVS and Sakrama, the Palike did not collect property tax at all while the budget expected Rs 841.3 crore from this account alone. By the end of the first quarter, BBMP normally mopped up 80 per cent of total property tax demand. Palike sources told Deccan Herald that as a consequence, payments to contractors could be affected.

“But for the road cutting fees we got from BMRCL, BBMP would have been in a soup. Palike has taken about Rs 800 crore loan from banks which need to be repaid and the spillover works have to be completed. Now that special grants of Rs 300 crore is announced, Palike can breathe easy,” said sources. BMRCL has paid Rs 61 crore out of a total Rs 200 crore payable for cutting the road for Metro Rail.

As CVS and Sakrama is still being debated, a final decision can be expected only around November and till then Palike revenue would not look up. A senior BBMP official said that a supplementary budget would be proposed by August end to account for special grant