JOIN USBBMP stares at revenue deficit plans
With several of its plans to raise revenue failing to take off, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is once again staring at a deficit year.
In the 2018-19 fiscal year, the civic body has set a revenue target of Rs 9,322.48 crore accrued through sources like property tax, non-tax revenue, government grants, recovery and refunds.
However, a majority of the BBMP’s plans to augment revenue through non-tax measures such as levying entertainment tax, enhancing penalty on authorised optic fiber cable firms, and collecting betterment charges from B-khata properties have not materialised so far.
The total station survey by the BBMP’s Standing Committee on Tax and Finance also flopped as the civic body missed out on collecting penalty from those who undervalued their properties. The BBMP was also planning to levy Rs 50,000 for every mobile tower on private land.
It recently proposed to levy a ‘Land Transport Cess’ on property owners to boost revenue, but the subject did not even come up for discussion at the BBMP council.
“If the state government grants us permission to implement these measures, we will work on improving our revenue collection,” said BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad.
However, the BBMP is working hard to achieve its property tax targets since last year. BBMP sources said the shortfall will make it tougher for the civic body to fund the budget projects.
This did not deter the Palike from drawing up action plans to implement the budget plans, a move that would result in mounting contractor bills. The civic body currently has outstanding contractor bills
up to a whopping Rs 15,462 crore.
This is why the BBMP commissioner has asked the state government to bring the civic body under the ambit of the Karnataka Local Fund Authorities and Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2003, and restore financial discipline, sources pointed out.
| Proposed meaures to boost revenue
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