Corporators wooing mayor SK Nataraj to get him to agree to grant each ward Rs50 crore. Mayor has reservations, to discuss matter with the chief minister.
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) budget may not be presented any time soon. After it got delayed due to Ashada and political apathy, the budget now has to overcome a legal hurdle for it to be tabled.
There are questions about the validity of the standing committee on finance and taxation, which is to present the budget. Sources in the BBMP said the budget might not be tabled until there was clarity on this.
The new amendments to the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, which came into force on July 30, state that the BBMP standing committees should have 11 members instead of the seven at present.
The administration wing of the BBMP has sought the help of the legal cell to find a solution. In a letter written on August 4, it has asked the cell if the current standing committee can continue or if it needs to be dissolved. “It also wants to know if four members can be added to the existing committee to meet the demands of the Act,” the official said.
The budget was to be tabled in July. But it was postponed since the Ashada month was “inauspicious” as per the Hindu calendar. The mayor later announced that the budget would be presented on August 16. It was again postponed by a week since chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, who was busy countering the Congress campaign, was yet to approve the draft budget. However, until there was some clarity on the legality of the standing committee, it was doubtful if the budget could be presented even if the chief minister approved it, BBMP officials said.
BBMP’s assistant legal officer S Sridhar Murthy claimed that the old bylaws and rules were still valid. “The seven-member committee can prepare and present the budget. There is not timeframe for constituting the new committee,” he said.
Advocate-general Ashok Harnahalli termed the situation “complicated”. “It has created a legal problem. It is a complicated issue and I have to examine the matter before I can say something about it,” he said.
JD(S) leader Padmanabha Reddy has written to the mayor, SK Nataraj, BBMP commissioner Siddaiah, and the legal cell, saying if the current committee tabled the budget, it would be a violation of the Act.
The BBMP budget is expected to have an outlay of Rs7,500 crore. The corporators are busy wooing mayor SK Nataraj for more funds for their wards.
The corporators were demanding up to Rs50 crore for their wards, the mayor said. “We cannot allot such a huge amount for a single ward. I have to discuss with the chief minister BS Yeddyyurappa before finalising how much to give to each ward. We have requested Rs1,000 crore from the government,” he said.
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