Jaipur: Budget blues

A political slugfest in Jaipur’s urban bodies is taking a toll on the sm operations of these entities. This is creating a hurdle in the development of the city.

In Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC), Mayor Ashok Lahoti, who is facing the resentment of his own party councillors in the municipal corporation, sent the budget directly to the state government for approval instead of having a discussion at the General Body Meeting (GBM).

Urban local bodies (ULB), which are responsible for a city’s governance, primarily play a big role in a city’s development and resolves the problems of its people.  

But the situation is not hunky-dory. It is such that many urban bodies have not even passed their own budget.

Twenty-two urban bodies across the state, including JMC, have not passed their budget this year. Rather than discussing the budget, these bodies sent the budget directly to the state government for green light.

Under the provisions of the Rajasthan Municipality Act-2009, the urban bodies should pass their budget by February 15 every year. There was the budget session of the assembly in February this time. The board of urban bodies also has MLAs and MPs as members.

In such a case, it is necessary to get the NOC of MPs and MLAs to convene a GBM of the urban body during assembly or parliament session. The 22 ULBs did not call a general body meeting for the budget this time by making an excuse for the assembly session and sent it to the state government for approval.

For the first time in the 23-year history of JMC, the budget was discussed at the GBM. Lahoti was not in favour of calling a GBM and sent it to the state for nod. He cited the order of Urban Development Minister Shrichand Kriplani for the move. If the mayor wanted it, the meeting could have been conducted. Similar is the situation in other urban bodies.

Jaipur vs Udaipur

Twenty-two urban bodies, including Jaipur Municipal Corporation, did not convene the budget meeting after February 15, citing provisions of the Rajasthan Municipality Act-2009. But Udaipur Municipal Corporation called the board meeting on March 10 to pass the budget of Rs 248 crore. According to officials of the Local Self Government (LSG) department, the time to pass the budget in the Act is February 15. But if the urban body wants a meeting between February 15 and March 31, then the budget can also be passed.

No budget meetings here

Budget meetings in Jaipur, Raisinghnagar, Bharatpur, Chaksu, Jaitaran, Shivganj, Balotra, Napasar, Bundi, Nasirabad, Tonk, Uniyara, Karauli, Jhalarapatan, Chomu, Bidasar, Dausa, Khairthal, Kishangarh Bas, Nava, Sanchaur and Biyana urban bodies were not conducted. All these 22 urban bodies sent the budget directly to the state government.

70 has not yet sent the budget

There are 191 urban bodies in the state. Of these, 70 ULBs have not yet sent the budget of fiscal year 2018-19 to the state government for approval. According to LSG officials, till March 27, only 121 bodies sent budget for approval.

Why is the budget meeting necessary

Budget meeting is important for any urban body. The budget covers the development plans of the city. For this, the budget should be taken up in the GBM so that councillors could debate the provisions of the budget and give suggestions. Special GBM can be convened under special circumstances under the provisions of Rajasthan Municipality Act. Special meetings can be convened on a 24-hour notice. During the assembly session, the urban body could convene this special meeting.