BBMP presents hush hush budget for 2022-23, uploads copy on its website

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike 2022-23 (BBMP) budget for an outlay of Rs 10,480.93 crore was prepared by a team of officials in the absence of elected council members for second consecutive year. An hour before the end of the fiscal year, the Special Commissioner of the Finance Division Tulsi Maddineni presented the budget and got the approval of the administrators on Thursday.

Bypassing the tradition, this was the first time that the budget was not announced. Instead, it was uploaded on the website of the BBMP. As per Section 196 of the BBMP Act, the local body's budget is supposed to be announced at least three weeks prior to the start of the next fiscal year. Accordingly, the budget should ideally have been presented before March 10. In another departure from the standard practice, it was presented in the absence of the Chief Commissioner, Special Commissioner and Joint Commissioner in the Urban Development Department at Vikasa Soudha which came in for bitter criticism from the public, associations and former corporators.

Unlike a realistic budget presented last year in the midst of the Covid pandemic, this time, under pressure from ministers and MLAs hailing from Bengaluru city, the officials projected a Rs 10,484.28 crore as revenue, as against a projected expenditure of Rs 10480.93 crore. All this hush hush affair is to clear pending bills of contractors who have executed various civic project.

A total of Rs 2,673 crore has been allocated for Special Infrastructure Project. Of this, Rs 1,557 crore has been allocated for the payment of outstanding bills and Rs 1,116 crore for ongoing works.

The construction of main roads, Nagarothana works, 110 village plan, Old Airport Road signal-free corridor, Mekhri Circle to Old Madras Road en roure till Whitefield Hopefarm junction a signal free corridor have been taken care of.

A total of 41 projects are listed in the Special Infrastructure Project, various projects of the Chief Ministers' Nava Bengaluru Project and the Nava Nagarothana Project. Out of the 41 projects, there is not even a single new project. Most of the grant is earmarked for clearing pending bills and maintenance of works in progress.

While the payment for outstanding bills has been fixed at Rs 92 crore for solid waste management, Rs 1 crore allocated for the ongoing work. Not even a single rupee has been allotted for any new works.

Also, Rs 50 crore has been allocated for the establishment of scientific land filling unit in Kannur at Survey No 50 and development of surrounding areas. Other than that, there is no new plan for waste management. For Doddabidarukalu waste management unit and its surrounding areas development Rs 3.87 crore outstanding bills is allocated; Rs 7.27 crore for clearing pending bills for the development of Subbarayanapalya, Lingadheeranahalli, Kannahalli and Seegehalli areas. Around Mandur, Mavallipura and surrounding areas, Rs 14.88 crore has been earmarked for the development bills relating to it. The rest of the budget book, however, with pending bills looks bigger than any other section.

Around Rs 400 crore has been set aside for undertaking work under the discretionary quota. An amount of Rs 250 crore has been set aside for discretionary spending by the chief minister who is in-charge of the Bangalore city district. The allocation of Rs 50 crore each for the discretion of the mayor and chief commissioner, Rs 25 crore each for the deputy mayor, taxation and financial standing committee has been made.