`1,562 crore MBMC budget passed, draws flak from Opposition

The BJP-led Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) passed the Rs. 1,562 crore annual budget on the virtue of their majority in the general body house on Thursday, amidst sharp criticism from the opposition. Pumped up by an additional Rs 125 crore to the original Rs 1,442.89 crore draft budget tabled by the civic chief, standing committee chairman Prabhakar Mhatre presented Rs 1,562.47 crore budget to Mayor Geeta Jain.

Despite the fact that the actual revenue generation stands at around Rs. 458 crore and funds procured as grants and loans availed from various government agencies occupy a lion’s share in the budget, the standing committee has inflated the budget without proposing any new revenue sources, alleged the opposition.

“The yawning gap between the estimated and actual income levels speaks volumes about the desperate attempts of presenting inflating figures in the budget which had been prepared by keeping the upcoming polls in mind.” said, NCP's Dhruvkishore Patil. However, BJP corporator Narendra Mehta maintained that budget was practical and realistic.

Already saddled with multi-crore liabilities, coupled with administrative expenses hovering at around 40 percent of the total budget, the civic administration has been unable to generate enough revenue on its own. Apart from ambitious projects, including seating rings, jogging-cycling tracks, recreation centres, lab to test construction material, and restoration work of the historic Ghodbunder Fort, over a dozen key projects which featured in last year’s budgetary documents are yet to take off.