The BMC has decided to ask for 50% share in charges collected by way of stamp duty, registration fee and professional tax which is currently retained by the state. DNA asks Mumbaikars and experts if the demand is justified.
Expert view
Transparency is the keyword
The corporation has one of the largest civic budgets in the country; it is almost equal to the allocation of a few states. But the manner in which the corporation spends the funds is shameful. A large portion of the budget is spent in paying the salaries of employees and in repaying loans. We all know that a large sum of money is not utilised at all. For instance, approximately Rs400 crore is allotted for the maintenance of open spaces in the city, but they are still in a bad condition. The corporation needs to put up a plan wherein it can justify how it will be spending the money. Unless all the details are made public, the demand for 50% share doesn’t seem justified.
Moreover it remains to be seen how they are going to back their case for more resources and if the government will grant them the same. These questions need to be answered.
Every now and then, scams are unearthed. We discover that the corporation has misused the budget allotted for a certain purpose. Therefore, officials need to do homework before asking for more funds.
—Gerson da Cunha, civic activist
Don’t grudge them resources
The civic corporation’s decision to ask for 50% share of stamp duty, registration fee and professional tax is justified. The BMC is playing the role of a local government authority. So for the development to continue, the administration needs monetary resources. It is a fact the revenue collected from octroi has gone down. Even the Value Added Tax (Vat) goes directly to the state government. It’s not right that the administration should have limited sources of revenue generation at their disposal. After all, the corporation has to maintain and look after a large city like Mumbai. Moreover, if some sources of revenue collection dry up, the money collected can be used as a reserve.
BMC has many plans to develop the city and the proposal is in good faith; but corruption is known to affect public funds. Officials need to guard against siphoning off monetary resources.
—Pankaj Joshi, executive director, Urban Design Research Institute
BMC view
Though the civic body is facing a financial crisis it doesn’t mean that the on-going projects will get affected. The financial crunch has propelled the corporation to shore up its reserves and in anticipation the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is making provisions for internal loans. According to the BMC’s chief accountant Ram Dhas, the corporation hasn’t been achieving its revenue target, which was fixed at the time of this year’s budget.
The prime cause of this has been the global meltdown. “When we tally our revenue budget, we realise that while our collection hasn’t increased, our expenditure has remained stable. In future, if this remains the same, then there is bound to be a problem during the financial year 2010-11,” Dhas informed.
Only 40% of the capital budget has been spent. “The remaining 60% will be utilised during the next three months, upto the month of March. We expect that the situation will improve,” Dhas added.
The 50% share in stamp duty, which the BMC is asking from the state government is only provision, for internal loans. “If we don’t make such provisions, then next year if the financial condition deteriorates it will be difficult to provide civic amenities and facilities to citizens,” he said.
Resources will empower authority
While we repeatedly complain about the BMC, it's a fact that no municipal corporation can do a better job than our civic body. It's better if the BMC gets its revenue share from the state directly. It will make the organisation independent. Internal resources will empower the corporation to take decisions faster and in the larger public interest. But in turn, the BMC must bring in transparency and accountability.
—Yogesh Thakkar
Delay in execution retards efficiency
Firstly the civic corporation must give an account of how it proposes to use the money. What is the guarantee that after getting Rs5000 crore revenues, the BMC will utilise the money efficiently? The problem with the BMC is that it can't decide on utilising the money properly. The tax-payers' money is being wasted, because the officials don't work efficiently. They plan amenities, but repeatedly extend deadlines.
—Nilesh Gupta
Execute work on time, don’t shoot deadlines
It’s reassuring to know that the civic corporation is not going to levy any extra taxes on the people. While the corporation announcesso many projects, they frequently shoot deadline targets and budget estimates. This shows that there is lack of implementation. Moreover apart from announcing new plans, the officials need to preserve existing amenities. For instance, the administration came up with a Clean Up campaign but the project had to be shelved. Moreover, there is need to have more transparency than allocating more money to the BMC.
—Ravindra Khulbe
Rich corporation still gives poor amenities
The authorities always keep asking for more, civic corporation is not an exception to this rule. The civic body says that the state government generates huge revenue from this city alone and ploughs back very little. If that is the case, what guarantee do we have that if the same funds are allocated to the BMC, it will utilise the resources wisely. Every penny accrued to the BMC must be used for the city’s betterment. I’m not happy with the BMC’s track record. They must keep the drains clean, footpaths free of hawkers and install proper street lights.
—Ramji Rajamani
BMC needs good CEO to supervise its work
This seems like the most logical way of generating revenue, since levying additional taxes, won’t find favour among citizens. I don’t think the BMC is justified in making the demand. But whether the money goes to the state government or civic corporation, nothing much seems to change. Even when the BMC was flush with funds, it wasn’t doing much as far as facilities and amenities were concerned. Giving it more funds, won’tmake any difference. The BMC needs a CEO to manage its funds. Let the BMC prove that it can utilise money wisely, before asking for more.
—Smruti Desai
No change in civic body’s functioning
First the BMC should justify what they have been doing for the city with the share they have already got. If intensions are right, money will follow. July 26 floods hit and devastated the city, but we still haven’t learnt our lessons from the same. Every year, the monsoon hits the city with full force, but there is flooding at the same spots. After few showers, I see potholes everywhere, but the civic administration doesn’t take any measures to alleviate the situation. They undertake excavation all across the city, but abandon half-done trenches. They are still not equipped to handle natural disasters.
—Priyanka Bedi
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