The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is the richest civic body in the country, on Tuesday unveiled its Budget for the Financial Year 2020-21 with the total outlay of Rs 33,441 crore, proposing a 5 per cent increase in fees for various licences without tweaking the existing tax structure. The Budget was presented by BMC Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi. The total budget estimates for the next financial year are 8.95 per centmore than the last fiscal when it had presented a budget of Rs 30,692 crore.
Here are the keyhights of the BMC Budget for the year 2020-21
Education
The estimates of the education budget was present to Anjali Naik, Chairperson of the Education Committee by Jt. MC (Education) Shri Ashutosh Salil.
1. The BMC education budget has been hiked from Rs 2733.77 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 2944.59 crore this year.
2. The BMC has proposed affiliation to ICSE, CBSE board. There is however no Budget allocation for starting ICSE and CBSE school. While this is a major project, no funds have been revealed for the same.
3. The BMC also proposed delegation of power to school head teachers, when it came to the temporary appointment of retired teachers for minimum 11 days. The BMC also proposed delegation of power to certify and approve bills up to Rs. 10,000.
4. According to the Budget provisions, Rs 2.50 crore has been allocated for primary, and Rs 45 lakh for secondary education in this regard.
5. The BMC has allocated Rs. 50 lakh to provide scholarships to the first 25 rank holders of Class 10 examinations.
6. BMC proposed the installation of a telescope and the establishment of a mini observatory in Vidyan Kutuhal Bhavan for a cost of Rs 26 lakh to give students first hand experience of space science.
7. BMC has proposed implemantation of use of hand sanitizers in 17 specially-abled schools. The Budget provision for this is Rs 1.84 crore for primary. This number incidentally is much higher than the financial aid allocation for meritorious students.
8. Implementation of 3 Water Break Bells to remind students to drink water has also been proposed in the BMC Budget.
9. The BMC will also upgrade old file storage system in offices to modular sliding file storage system. The BMC has allocated Rs 10 lakh for primary in this regard. However, no allocation has so far been made for revamping of school infrastructure.
10. Budget provision of Rs 1,031.92 crore made under 'Primary Education Government Aid' and a provision of Rs 129.94 crore revenue proposed for Secondary Education.
11. The Municipal Corporation has allocated Rs 20 crore to install CCTV cameras at entrance and exit gates of BMC schools as well as inside classrooms of Class 4 to Class 7. In the previous year, the BMC had allocated Rs 24.3 crore for the installation of 6,666 CCTV cameras in BMC schools. This project was however not completed.
Roads and infrastructure
1. From Rs 1189.55 crore expenditure in 2018-19, the budget has been increased by 52.24% to Rs 1810.97 crores. This includes major projects, traffic operation and bridges.
2. The Mumbai coastal road budget has been increased to Rs 2000 crore by 25%. In year 2018-19, a budget of Rs 1,600 crore was allocated for this. The estimated construction cost of coastal road project is 12,721 crore.
3. The BMC has proposed to extend the Goregaon link road by 12.2kms in the Budget. The extension will give impetus to east-west connectivity. The budget allocation for this year has been raised three-fold from Rs 100 crore in the 2019-20 budget to Rs 300 crore.
4. A Budget of Rs 226.77 crore has been proposed for the garden department. Considering space constraints, the BMC has proposed implementation of urban forestry method pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. Accordingly 4,00,000 plants are to be planted in the upcoming year through Miyawaki method in 65 BMC plots.
5. A Budget of Rs 799.67 crore has been proposed by the BMC for the expenditure on bridges. The expenditure on bridges up to January 2019 was Rs 168.43 crore (in 2018-19). This increased by 13 % to Rs 389.32 crore up to January in 2019-20.
6. Fund of Rs 6 crores proposed for re-engineering and reconstruction of water treatment plants.
7. A Budget allocation of Rs 170.79 crore has been made by the BMC for tunnel works and water conveyance.
8. Rs 10 crore has been allocated for construction of women's hostel. This hostel is to be constructed in the the western suburbs at Goregaon (W), to cater to the need for safe and convenient accommodation for women.
Transport
1. The funds are to be used for repayment of procured loans for new buses under wet-lease, to fulfill financial obligations arising from wage management and implementation of ITMS project.
2. The BMC also unveiled plans to provide 50% concession for senior citizens while travelling in non AC buses. Rs 3 crore is the proposed amount for this project.
3. BMC proposes 100% concession in bus fare to blind and differently-abled people while travelling by the Non-AC BEST buses. A fund of Rs 6 crores is proposed for the project.
Health
1. The BMC has increased the health budget by 3% from Rs 4,151 crore in 2019 to Rs 4,260 for the year 2020-21.
2. The BMC has proposed Rs 2 crore to control the spread of coronavirus in Mumbai.
3. 35 BMC dispensaries will soon be functional in the evening OPD from 4 pm to 11 pm. Currently, only 2 dispensaries are running in the evening.
4. The Aapli Chikitsa scheme is also likely to be extended in all medical colleges in current year. For now this facility is available at peripheral hospitals, dispensary and maternity homes.
Culture and Tourism
1. A provision of Rs 183.03 crore has been made in the Budget by the BMC for heritage and natural inheritance in the city.
2. BMC has also proposed a creation of dedicated Department of ToursimThe civic body proposed the commencement of ecotourism activities around water supply reservoirs such as Tanda and Vaitarna Dam.
3. Dadar beach to be beautified and the consulting architect has proposed a scheme for the project. A provision of Rs 4 crore is being allotted for the same.
Revenue
1. The Budget estimates from revenue grew by 13.87%. It is proposed to be Rs 28,448.30 crore this year. The budget estimates of revenue for the year 2019-20 was Rs 24,983.82 crore.
2. The BMC has however seen a reduction of about Rs 335 crore in annual demand. The general tax which is a part of the property tax has been deducted due to the implementation of the decision of the state government to exempt the residential buildings or residential tenements having carpet area up to 500 sq ft.
3. BMC will adopt a prudent Investment Policy to increase the interest income, The civic body will implement an investment philosophy that encapsulates the global principles of safety, liquidity and returns.
(With inputs from Agencies)
