MC to present budget for next fiscal year in Chandigarh

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is prepared to discuss and ultimately approve a budget of about 22,000 million for the upcoming fiscal year, with 13,320 million sought as a grant-in-aid (GIA) from the Chandigarh administration and hopes to generate about 7,900 million from its own revenue receipts or income (2023-2024). On February 7, a special budget meeting will take place. Significantly, the GIA amount has been finalised with the hope that the 4th Delhi Finance Commission's (DFC) recommendations will be followed. Along with GIA, the MC has clearly stated in its budget draught that electricity duty reimbursement amounts total 225 million. The central government's ministry of home affairs (MHA) is still reviewing both the 4th DFC recommendations and the electricity duty concerns. The MC has therefore prominently listed these amounts in its draught budget estimates, saying that they are its prerogative. The draught still includes about 18,860,000,000 in the expenditure section. Around 14,000 million has been listed as the total amount under the revenue sector, while 4650 million has been kept as total under capital expenditures. Additionally, a special sum of $200 million has been set aside for the ambitious project of 24-hour water supply for the upcoming fiscal year. Under income, a major expenditure section only lists the MC's committed liabilities for the following fiscal year. These obligations, which the authority must meet at all costs, include employee salaries and wages, pension benefits for retired employees, gasoline and lubricant costs, power and water bills, and other related obligations. Developmental projects from all departments, wings, and the engineering department that are ongoing throughout the year have been kept within the capital expenditure area. Sources claim that despite the amount appearing to be on the high side, it was chosen in anticipation of the necessity for unexpected large or small works (if necessary), in addition to the routine and planned works. For the ambitious 24-hour water supply project, the MC has already secured almost 600 million from Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL). According to sources, the budget document and all the statistics were created with consideration for all financial factors. Since it was a demanding task, senior officials spent many days at the department level finalising the draught by adding and subtracting statistics as necessary, according to insiders.