MCB set to present budget on Mar 25

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

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Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 19

The Municipal Corporation of Bathinda is all set to present its budget for the financial year 2015-16 on March 25 and the corporation officials are working to put the budget together. The budget is also going to be a litmus test for the newly-appointed Mayor, Balwant Rai Nath, and the councillors since the residents of the city have new hopes from the new house.

Focus on basic facilities

According to the Mayor, the focus of the budget, this year, would be to develop the backward areas of the city beginning with availability of basic facilities to the residents of areas which have been neglected for so many years now and hence, lagged behind on the development chart.

Nath further added that the major problems that need to be addressed on priority in the backward areas were the absence of a reliable sewerage system, sanitation system and non-availability of potable water. Focus of the budget will also be on timely payment of salaries to the employees, effective drainage system, sewerage maintenance, curbing the stray cattle menace.

Managing money

Considering the fact that the MCB had failed to recover Rs 21 crore in the last financial year, the MCB’s plan to present a 120-crore budget this year seems to be an ambitious project. In the financial year 2014-15, the MCB had presented a budget of Rs 106 crore but could earn only Rs 85 crore as it failed to collect Rs 4 crore in VAT, Rs 5 crore in property tax, Rs 5 crore in water and sewerage bills, Rs 4 crore from sale of land, Rs 50 lakh in building fee, Rs 55 lakh from composition fee, Rs 50 lakh from development charge, Rs 1.15 crore from change in land use charges and Rs 3.25 crore of excise duty.

This time around, the corporation has pinned its hope for funds on collection of property tax, house tax, teh-bazari tax and recovery of pending payments.

Residentspeak

The biggest problem staring the MCB and the residents of the city in the face is the problem of waterlogging. Areas located across the railway line are the worst hit during the monsoon and major markets like Sirki Bazaar and the Mall Road are also flooded. Every year, the MCB announces huge plans to tackle the situation but the plans remain on paper as even a spell of light rain is enough to punch holes in the claims. — Rajinder Bansal, Parasram Nagar

Stray cattle have been wreaking havoc on the city residents. The MCB should keep aside funds to come up with a concrete plan to manage the increasing population of stray cattle in Bathinda. On and off, the MCB announces plans to construct cattle sheds but stray cattle continue to roam freely in the city and cause accidents and damage. — Harjinder Singh Johal, Mall Road

The sewerage and drainage system of the city also need to be upgraded and paid attention to. Overflowing of sewer lines, especially during monsoons, is a big problem. It would be good to see the corporation chalk out a plan to make the sewerage system of the city work in an effective manner. — Kulwant Rai, Arjun Nagar

Although the corporation has outsourced the work of garbage collection in the city to a private company and the company has been working satisfactorily, the corporation also needs to have a back-up plan for garbage collection and dumping in case the company’s garbage collectors go on strike, which happens often. Also, the corporation should direct the company to instruct its employees not to dump the waste at the corner of the roads as it may result in diseases. — Narinder Soni, Nai Basti