Mohali Municipal Corporation proposes no new tax in Budget

Sanjay Bumbroo

Mohali, March 19

The Mohali Municipal Corporation will propose a Budget of Rs 161.27 crore against an expenditure of Rs 161 crore for the financial year 2022-23 in its House meeting to be held on March 21.

With the Rs27 lakh surplus Budget, the civic body will not be proposing any fresh taxe or project during the next fiscal. The Budget will be passed in the House meeting following which it will be sent to the Punjab Local Bodies Department for its nod.

It is pertinent to mention here that last year, in a major setback to the MC, the Local Bodies Department had imposed a Rs31-crore cut in its Budget. Against the proposed Rs148 crore Budget, the department had approved only Rs117 crore.

In the next financial year, Rs6 crore has been earmarked for road repairs and Rs19 crore for miscellaneous development works. New tube wells and underground water reservoirs to augment the water supply, which is completely under corporation’s ambit, are expected to cost Rs4 crore, while an equal amount of funds have been reserved for the purchase of various machinery and equipment.

The civic body has proposed an expenditure of Rs2 crore for the maintenance and development of parks in Sector 76 to 80, which were earlier under the purview of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority.

MC Commissioner Kamal Kumar Garg said due to the pandemic over the last two years, the MC losses mounted to nearly Rs10 crore. Now, they would focus on increasing collections from various areas, including property tax, advertising, licence and tehbazaari fee.

In the fiscal 2021-22, the MC’s property tax collection target was Rs28 crore, but the realisation fell short by Rs8 crore. Similarly, advertisements brought in Rs8.72 crore against the expected Rs11 crore. The biggest blow came from the building application fee, where the income was pegged at Rs70 lakh, but the MC only earned Rs35,000. From community halls, the earnings were Rs36 lakh against the estimated Rs60 lakh.

Rs 6 crore earmarked for road repairs

• In the next financial year, Rs6 crore has been earmarked for road repairs and Rs19 crore for miscellaneous development works.
• New tube wells and underground water reservoirs to augment the water supply are expected to cost Rs4 crore, while an equal amount has been reserved for purchase of various machinery and equipment.
• The civic body has proposed an expenditure of Rs2 crore for the maintenance and development of parks in Sector 76 to 80.