Surat Budget proposes no additional taxes

The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) presented a Rs 779.88 crore surplus budget for 2004-05 with no proposals for new taxes or additional charges.

The budget also does not feature any major capital projects.

Presenting the budget, SMC municipal commissioner G R Aloria said a major chunk of the Rs 305 crore revenue would come in from octroi, while direct taxes would account for Rs 195.87 crore. Together both these heads would account for Rs 636.42 crore revenue.

Along with interest on deposits and other capital income, the total revenue has been pegged at Rs 667.95 crore.

As against this, Rs 362.88 crore has been earmarked for revenue expenditure and Rs 356.29 crore has been earmarked for capital works. Interest outgo has been pegged at Rs 60.71 crore.

Presenting the proposals, Aloria said, "We have not added any kar (taxes) or dar (rates) in the budget for the next fiscal."

While there is no tax hikes, the outlay for capital works out to be Rs 356.29 crore which is the highest by any civic body in the state for 2004-05.

The SMC is planning to develop a "theme park" (a botanical garden) at Ugat in Mora Bhagal. The garden will be designed on the lines of some of the famous gardens in the world.

Aloria said several new projects would be undertaken. Among the important is the 24-hour water supply scheme to the residents.

Aloria says, "This is for the first time in the history of Surat that the residents would be able to get 24-hour water supply. At present the water supply is irregular but people need not have to worry about water in future."

The other highlights include door-to-door garbage collection and electricity generation from waste.

The SMC has earmarked Rs 225 crore for the project on generating electricity from waste which will be completed within one-and-a half years.

Secondly a leak detection system and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCDA) will be developed to check the supply of water through pipelines.

The budget also proposes to convert vehicles CNG-powered. A national river conservation plan has also been developed for the river Tapi.

A provision of over Rs 128 crore has been made for the construction of new flyovers and roads, concretisation of the existing roads, emphasis on e-governance, a comprehensive plan to restore past glory of the silted Tapi river and many other civic amenities oriented measures.

The SMC chief laid emphasis on better civic facilities for the 27 lakh people living within the corporation limits of the city.

In view of the heavy traffic volume and the steadily rising population, about Rs 75.80 crore would be spent on building new roads and for cementing the existing ones.

New overhead bridges and roads would cost nearly Rs 42.77 crore. An over-bridge for pedestrians will be constructed at Chowk Bazar area for easing the traffic movement in the heart of the city.

Also on the cards is a special focus on technology upgradation, e-governance at par with international standards and entire systems procedures would also be re-engineered as per the plan.

A sum of Rs one crore has been provided for the feasibility report on rapid mass transit system while Rs 50 lakh would be used for elevated junction crossings in the city.