Only 48% of BMC's allocated budget for 2020-21 was spent
Facing a massive "financial crisis" due to covid-19 pandemic, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) claimed to have spent only 48 percent of its budget allocated in 2020-21 fiscal year on various development projects, however, several big-ticket projects such as waste to energy plant at Deonar, the Tansa cycling tracks, Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project (MSDP), Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) are developing at snail's pace.
Last year, the BMC had announced a Rs 33,441 crore overall municipal budget for fiscal 2020-21, of which an estimated amount of Rs 11,674 crores was allotted for various development works. But till December 31, 2020, the BMC has been able to spend only Rs 5744 crores, which is 48% or less than half of the total amount, remaining 52 percent of funds are lying unused and officials have attributed this to the pandemic. As BMC presents its Budget for the year 2021-22 on Wednesday, the Free Press Journal gives you a lowdown of some of its big-ticket projects
GOREGAON MULUND LINK ROAD: A mega-project aimed to improve connectivity between the east and the west. The road widening to facilitate GMLR ran into over 240 illegal structures in Bhandup and Mulund last year. When completed the GMLR will be a huge relief to the existing traffic congestions on the three link roads in MMR and on Ghodbunder road in Thane. TOTAL COST: Rs 4700 crores BUDGETARY ALLOCATION IN 2020-21: Rs 300 crores.
COASTAL ROAD PROJECT: Commenced in October 2018, the ambitious coastal road project was envisaged for completion within four years since it commenced. The work on the project, connecting south Mumbai to the suburbs had been in the pipeline for over a decade now. However even after it commenced in 2018, the project faced a five-month setback after
work was stayed by the Bombay high court. Later the work was stalled due to pandemic for at least five to six months.
TOTAL COST: Rs 12,000 crores BUDGETARY ALLOCATION IN
2020-21: Rs. 2000.07 crores. DEONAR WASTE TO ENERGY PROJECT: Almost seven years after the Bombay High Court asked the BMC to shut the Deonar dumping ground, the civic body in January 2020 finalised a contractor to set up the much-awaited waste-toenergy plant there. The civic body is not planning another Waste to Energy project in Deonar.
TOTAL COST: 600 crores. BUDGETARY ALLOCATION IN 2020-21: Rs 100 crores.