Municipal corpns and where they stand
LMC aims high, but will it be able to meet development targets?
LUCKNOW: Over 3,000 candidates are in the fray for 110 seats for corporators in the LMC house this year -- up from 2,200 in the previous civic elections. And those elected will have a big say in how the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) spends funds on development works in the city.
The municipal corporation’s budget has risen from Rs 1,862 crore to Rs 2,211 crore in just three years. Of this, Rs 1,100 crore is to be spent on various development activities.
The corporators get an annual quota of Rs 90 lakh for development work.
House tax is the main source of LMC’s earnings.
This year, the house tax collection target is Rs 300 crore, while the corporation aims to earn Rs 15 crore from advertisements and hoardings.
The civic body also earns Rs 10 crore from parking lots, gets 2% revenue from state government from sale of stamps besides getting aid from the state finance commission every year.
The municipal corporation will spend Rs 1,100 crore for development activities like road construction, drains, streetlights/parks maintenance, development, maintenance of LMC buildings, installation of submersibles and Rs 620 crore on salaries/arrears of its employees.
It has to pay Rs 150 crore to its contractors.
The corporators also have a say in around Rs 800 crore budget of Lucknow Jal Sansthan, which is also at the disposal of LMC.
Besides maintaining water lines to supply potable water in every household, Jal Sansthan is entrusted with the work of constructing/maintaining sewer lines and sewage treatment plants in the city.
The Jal Sansthan also maintains handpumps and manholes in the city.
Municipal commissioner
Udairaj Singh said the effort is to make LMC a self-sustained body.
“For that, we are working ways and means to increase our revenue through collection of house tax, commercial tax, user charges, advertisements, rent of LMC properties, sale of LMC properties and utilisation of huge land bank of the civic
body,” he said.
Outgoing corporator Girish Mishra said, “If the BJP government gives powers to local bodies by implementation of 74th Constitutional amendment, the budget of the municipal corporation would grow three times in the next five years as it will have more powers to make its law and go for economic and
financial reforms.”
Lucknow Municipal Corporation’s has spent Rs 3.18 crore on setting up traffic signals at 60 crossings in Lucknow, Rs 2 crore on development of Kanha Upvan this year, Rs 2 crore on construction of an auditorium in Ismailganj Degree college and Rs 5 crore on old age home in Adil Nagar.