Warangal: No budget yet for GWMC

Warangal : The change of guard at the State level seems to have affected the functioning of the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC).

The disharmony among the ruling BRS Council members led to a standoff in approving the annual budget of the urban local body (ULB). Although the officials had prepared the annual budget and called for the Council meeting on February 29, it didn’t happen due to the revolt of Corporators against Mayor Gundu Sudharani.

Fearing backlash, Sudharani also ignored her responsibility to hold the budget session. Meanwhile, several BRS Corporators crossed over to the Congress. With the fear of a no-confidence motion looming large, Sudharani also started lobbying with the Congress leaders to join that party.

Against this backdrop, the annual budget remained unintroduced. With barely 10 days to go for the end of the 2023-24 budget, the officials and the Corporators appear clueless about the functioning of the ULB from April 1. “With the model code of conduct in force currently due to general elections, the situation has become even worse,” 66th Division Corporator Dasyam Abhinav Bhaskar told The Hans India. GWMC, one of the largest corporations after the GHMC, found itself in a strange situation due to some Corporators and the Mayor, he said.

Meanwhile, the GWMC commissioner Ashwini Tanaji Wakade reportedly took the issue to the notice of the Municipal Administration Director D Divya. She also spoke to the Hanumakonda district collector Sikta Patnaik and Mayor Sudharani separately to find a solution to introducing the 2024-25 budget by convening a special council meeting. The officials also wrote a letter to the State Election Commissioner, it’s learnt. If the standoff continues, the district collector is likely to look after the spending – salaries of outsourcing and contract staff, power bills fuel bills, etc. of the GWMC.