Patiala MC breaches low target of street vending charges

Tribune News Service

Ravneet Singh

Patiala, March 27

Municipal Corporation is expected to earn Rs 8.50 lakh in street vending charges in the current fiscal against its target of Rs 5.60 lakh. While it has increased its target collection to Rs 11 lakh for the coming fiscal, its ability to exceed its targets despite its failure to implement the street vending zone project highlights its low targets, which is resulting in overall losses to the local body.

The corporation had recently passed its budget for the coming fiscal (2023-24) and pegged it at Rs 127.85 crore.

Officials said the corporation managed to collect Rs 79.34 crore till December, 2022. It is expected to earn a total of Rs 118.20 crore by the end of this fiscal.

As a positive turn of events, it is expected to reach its yearly targets of collection of water and sewerage tax, building application fee and property tax by December, but is expected to lag behind on collection of cow cess and GST collection. The officials said the state government was supposed to provide the GST, which was pegged at Rs 60.95 crore this year, but the corporation got only Rs 37 crore.

The corporation’s collection of street vending charges has also reached Rs 8.50 lakh against its target of Rs 5.60 lakh. Sources said, “While the corporation has managed to breach its target collection already, the office’s collection targets are much lower in relation to the number of street vendors currently functional in the city.” A senior official said, “As per the data of the office, there are 4,025 street vendors in Patiala city. If the corporation collects an average of Rs 1,500 per year from each vendor, it could earn about Rs 60 lakh a year. But the corporation has failed to complete its project, move the street vendors and collect appropriate charges from them.”

The officials said that was while the haphazard placement of street vendors on roads had become a matter of inconvenience to residents and commuters. “The street vendors are unregulated and become a reason for chaos and congestion on roads.”

Commissioner Aaditya Uppal said, “We are making plans to bring the vendors and their markets in order and provide them with proper locations to function. We will also collect the charges from the vendors.”

Failure to start project causes loss

A senior official said, “As per the data of the office, there are 4,025 street vendors in Patiala city. If the corporation collects an average of Rs 1,500 per year from each vendor, it could earn about Rs 60 lakh a year. But the corporation has failed to complete its vending zone project, move the street vendors and collect appropriate charges from them.”

Targets for next fiscal

The corporation is expected to earn Rs 65 crore in GST collection, Rs 3.50 crore on electricity, Rs 19 crore in property tax, Rs 8.25 crore in water and sewerage tax, Rs 15 crore in building application fee among others, totalling Rs 127.85 crore, in the next fiscal 2023-24. It is expected to spend Rs 93.69 crore on salaries and related expenses.