The Chief Accounts and Finance Officer has notified all the Heads of Departments to reduce funds for development works by 30 per cent. The LBT is denting NMC coffers is clearly evident from the actions of two top NMC officials.
Nagpur News: The Local Body Tax (LBT) has been creating havoc for Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has become more clear when the NMC Commissioner Shyam Wardhane cut down the Budget of Rs 1400 crore. The cutting down of the Budget has left the office-bearers of the Ruling Party outraged and fuming. The Chief Accounts and Finance Officer has notified all the Heads of Departments to reduce funds for development works by 30 per cent. The LBT is denting NMC coffers is clearly evident from the actions of two top NMC officials.
The scaling down of the Budget may turn the assurances of Ruling Party (BJP) hollow and subsequently create uproar.
According to new laws of Municipal Corporations, it is mandatory for the Standing Committee to hold a meeting every week. However, the meeting has not been held since the past three week after the Administration drilled the holes in the Budget. The Administration has not been preparing files for development works at all and therefore, there is no meeting of the Standing Committee as no files were put up for the meeting. The NMC Administration plans the working in accordance with the revenue in the exchequer. Moreover, the Administration is falling way short in recovery of new revenue sources pointed out by the Standing Committee and thus not completing the target, making the Ruling Party furious.
The Ruling Party (BJP) had strongly opposed the LBT but the State Government stuck to the enforcement of the Local Body Tax. There were claims of improvement in LBT recovery within two months but nothing of the sort happened. However, the Standing Committee had suggested several initiatives to cover the LBT losses. It had demanded the list of regular and unregular layouts from the NIT and had pointed out new sources of revenue. But the NMC Administration failed to improve its style of working and thus creating the present precarious financial situation.
