Government yet to approve BBMP budget-2012

This year too, it seems that BBMP may not implement even 50 per cent of the schemes announced in its budget.

The budget should have been presented in February-March according to the provisions of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976. But for the past two years, BBMP has been presenting budget in the month of August.

However, this year, it presented budget on June 28. After five days of discussion, the BBMP Council approved it on July 6, 2012 and sent it to the Government’s approval on August 4.

According to the documents available with Express, at present, it is at the Section Officer of the Urban Development Department. “It has to pass through Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Joint Secretary and Principal Secretary for approval. Each stage, it will take sometime to get approval. By the time, we get nod from Principal Secretary, it will take another two months,” official sources in BBMP said.

“By the time, we get the nod from the government, it will be end of September. We will get only six months to implement the schemes announced in the budget as the financial ends on March 31, 2013,” the sources added.

This year, the ruling BJP presented a budget of Rs 9,498.90 crore, around Rs 100 crore more than the previous budget. Most of the works mentioned in the previous budget have been included as spill over works. “The Assembly elections  are scheduled to be held in May 2013. If the Election Commission holds the elections earlier, the budget will be completely failure,” a senior Congress Councillor said.

Meanwhile, Mayor D Venkatesh Murthy has requested the State government to approve the budget as soon as possible. “In the interest of public, the government should approve without delaying further,” he said.

Opposition leader M K Gunashekhar said that it all started because of the ruling party presenting budget late. “The State Government had issued an order last year warning the ruling party to present budget on time. In spite of that, there is no value for the order. Budget has lost its sanctity,” he said.