With barely three months left for the announcement of a new fiscal budget, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has so far managed to spend only 21 per cent of the budgetary funds this year, raising the fear that funds earmarked for civic development projects may lapse.
For the financial year of 2014-15, the BMC has made a provision of Rs 11,816 crore for the infrastructure development and civic amenities. According to the civic data, the civic body could spend only Rs 2,552 crore, which comes to 21.6 per cent, by December 1.
A peek into BMC’s works in its Rs 33,537 crore budget shows that several works are still pending despite having sufficient budgetary allocations. The departments where the funds have been unused are all important departments like roads and traffic, bridges, fire brigade, markets, garden, information technology, disaster management cell, solid waste management (SWM), storm water drain (SWD), markets etc.
According to the civic data, the BMC has allotted Rs 378.66 crore for the solid waste management department, but only Rs 27.83 crore have been spent so far. In the garden department, of the Rs 427.27 crore allocation, only Rs 100.19 crore have been spent. In the fire brigade department only '28.56 crores has been spent from the allocated funds of Rs 247.27 crores.
The roads and traffic department can boast of the maximum spending of funds as they have spent Rs 1,690 crore from the allocated funds of Rs 3,207 crore, which comes to around 52 per cent.
Opposition leader Devendra Amberkar alleged the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP combine has been “apathetic” about carrying out civic development works, as they have no control over the civic administration. However a senior civic official said majority of funds are used in the last two-three months.
