NMC to utilise special aid from Govt for ‘committed expenses’
| Date :03-Jul-2019 |
Staff Reporter:
Finance Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has proposed to utilise a substantial part of special aid of Rs 150 crore received from the State Government for ‘committed expenses’ instead of spending it on development of the city. The proposal will be discussed by Standing Committee of NMC in its meeting scheduled on June 5 (Friday). NMC had received the aid as second instalment of special assistance from the State Government on March 8, 2019, that is, in the fag end of the financial year 2018-19.
Owing to poor financial strength, which was claimed to have improved on the basis of Government aid, NMC has not been able to spend much money on developmental works despite announcements previously. At present, NMC’s committed expenditure is Rs 122.60 crore per month. This includes expenses on payment of salaries and pension, petrol/diesel consumption for vehicles, telephone and electricity charges, bill for raw water, payment to Kanak Resources Management Limited for collection and transportation of municipal solid waste, payment to Orange City Water as against one-time settlement, expenses incurred on Bhandewadi dumping yard, ongoing construction of cement roads, capital expenses in Hudkeshwar and Narsala, expenses on payment of wages to security guards and computer operators, loan repayment etc. The civic body receives aid of Rs 93 crore per month from State Government as compensation against subsuming of some taxes in Goods and Services Tax.
However, all of this grant is spent on these heads. Still, some gap remains in meeting monthly commitments of expenditure. NMC incurs expenditure of Rs 30.35 crore per month on city bus service, replacement of conventional street-lights with LED lights etc. Further, NMC is yet to clear the dues of Rs 80 crore to Rs 90 crore of contractors for works done between January-May 2019. Recently, contractors also warned to stop the works unless their dues were cleared.
Finance Department has admitted in a note submitted to Standing Committee, NMC may not be able to clear the dues of contractors for a minimum of six to eight months. Hence, it has suggested, the monthly expenditure of Rs 30.35 crore should be met from the from the special aid received from the Government so that the civic body is able to clear the dues of contractors from its regular funds in next 2 months.