Abohar MC makes no provision for development in budget

Raj Sadosh

Abohar, April 1

Even as the cold war between the BJP and SAD for the president’s chair in the “A” grade Municipal Council (MC) in Abohar continues, the authorities have submitted the annual budget to the Director, Local Bodies, for approval.

While the leaders of the ruling alliance had made tall promises to the electorate during the election campaign, the budget has no provision for development works.

The BJP has 12 councillors, SAD four and the Congress has 13 councillors. Four SAD rebels were elected as Independents in a “well-calculated move to let the BJP down” in the 33-member house.

Though the SAD leadership had reportedly told the cadre that it was the prerogative of the BJP to name the candidate for the office of president, the tangle remains unresolved.

A meeting was called last month to administer oath to new councillors. They were also expected to elect the president but 13 councillors of the Congress were told after reaching the venue that the meeting had been cancelled.

The budget proposals for 2015-16 indicate that the council has to pay liabilities worth Rs 18 crore and expect recovery of only Rs 8 crore against water and house tax etc. There will be some income from its share in the state government’s VAT receipts.

The council has to pay Rs 1 crore to its 350 employees each month as salaries, 172 of whom are in the sanitation department. They organised a protest today resenting the non-payment of salary for the past two months.

The council has to pay Rs 10 crore to Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd as dues; the monthly bill has increased by Rs 7 lakh to run the sewerage treatment plant. An analysis of receipts reveal that the council had in February received Rs 52 lakh as the VAT share, it has reduced to Rs 27 lakh in March.

For the past four years, the council had not given contract to collect advertisement tax, receipt on this account had fallen from Rs 10 lakh per annum to Rs 6 lakh even as the number of hoardings had increased manifold.

A series of scams had surfaced in the past few months indicating that a section of staff had “pocketed” substantial income by indulging in malpractices. With such financial health, the council will be headed by an elected representative, the name may take a long time to be decided on, sources said.

The proposal

• The budget proposals for 2015-16 indicate that the council has to pay
• liabilities worth Rs 18 crore and expect recovery of only Rs 8 crore against water and house tax etc. There will be some income from its share in the state government’s VAT receipts
• The civic body has to pay Rs 1 crore to its 350 employees each month as salaries, 172 of whom are in the sanitation department