BBMP to table Rs 10,000-cr budget today

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will present Rs 10,000-crore budget for 2019-20 on Monday.

According to sources, the civic body officials had proposed a budget of Rs 8,900 crore. But after the request from various corporators, the budget allocation was pegged at Rs 10,000 crore.

“Since the budget will be tabled by S P Hemalatha, chairperson of the Standing Committee on Taxation and Finance and as the mayor is also a woman, people can expect many welfare schemes for women in this budget," a source said.

"Schemes like electric scooters to women, education loans at a low-interest rate are the highlights of this budget,” a source said.

A fund of Rs 125 crore is expected to be allocated for the development of 110 villages that were newly added to the BBMP.

The recently presented State budget has approved a special grant of Rs 8,015 crore for the BBMP for three years under ‘Nava Bengaluru’ programme, of which the Palike will get Rs 2,300 crore for 2019-20.

G Parameshwara, Bengaluru City Development Minister, said: “We have started the works from the last year budget. We have given a working plan of Rs 8,015 crores for this year. The priority is given to white-topping, flyovers, underpass and other infrastructure projects.”

This is for the second time since 2005 that a woman councillor will table the budget. In 2005-06 Lalitha Srinivas, the then chairperson of the standing committee on taxation and finance presented the budget.