JOIN USNo increase in property tax, parking charges in NDMC budget
The New Delhi Municipal Council’s budget for financial year 2012-13, which was unveiled on Friday, spared the residents in the Lutyens’ zone of an increase in property tax.
With several ambitious projects of the civic body being far from completion, the NDMC refrained from announcing any major development project for the next fiscal.
The focus of the Rs 2,289.64-crore budget is on revamped power and water supply system, upgradation of smaller markets, sprinkler irrigation system in Shanti Path, constructing 35 new public toilets, CCTV survey of drainage for retrofitting, providing biometric system for employees attendance and bringing eight critical services under Service Level Agreement (SLA) for time-bound delivery of services.
In her budget speech, NDMC chairperson Archna Arora said the budget for the financial year 2012-13 is aimed at asset creation.
“The pace of infrastructure development was very high and creation of capital assets was large in numbers during the last three years. Now is the time to maintain these assets with increased levels of quality benchmarks using latest technology as per international standards,” she said.
Outlining its revenue proposals, Arora said the budget “proposes no increase in property tax rates in the next year” and the civic body plans to collect Rs 259.98 crore as property tax in the next fiscal.
The civic body also plans to collect Rs 268.89 crore as licence fee, Rs 702.53 crore from power supply and Rs 113.60 crore from water supply.
Archana Arora said the NDMC has neither any plan to recommend a hike in water or power tariffs, nor would increase surface-level parking charges, especially outside the multi-level parking as suggested by the Bhure Lal Committee.
For the upgradation and renovation plans of markets, the NDMC plans to take up work in eight more markets.
It also proposes to provide to install ATM facility in all its markets in the next fiscal.
In a grim reminder of the slow pace at which some of the ambitious projects are moving ahead, the civic body has further extended the deadline of the development projects under Connaught Place redevelopment project.
“We have reviewed these projects over the last few months. The work would be completed by December this year,” Arora said. The projects like provision of subways and restoring the façade were to be completed before the Commonwealth Games.
The list of proposals also includes providing smart cards to school students in 43 remaining NDMC schools.
This proposal, part of the last year’s budget, aims to act as an integrated data bank recording all educational, medical and other information for each child to help assess gaps and requirements. However, the project is yet to be completed.