Six months on, ULBs still wait for Rs 1306 Crore central funds
ARVIND SHARMA. Updated: 3/16/2019 11:37:14 AM
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JAMMU: The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) which were formed six (6) months back in October 2018, have still not been provided Rs 1306 crore funds by the central government under 14th Finance Commission due to which no major development work has been initiated by both the Corporations since they were formed after a gap of thirteen (13) years.
Elections for Urban Local Bodies (ULB) in Jammu and Kashmir were held in Sept-Oct last year after a gap of 13 years. The last ULB elections in the state were held in 2005.
Highly placed sources said that the state government, since the formation of Corporations, has repeatedly written to the central government to release the funds under 14th Finance Commission so that development works could be initiated in the state but despite repeated communiqués the funds have yet not been released.
It may be mentioned here that the central government has released funds more than Rs 200 crores as first installment to the panchayats under14th Finance Commission but funds for the Corporations (ULB) are still awaited.
Now, with imposition of Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the Corporations will have to wait for months together for development funds till entire process for Parliamentary elections gets over and the new government is formed at the center, sources said.
“The funds will not be released by the Government of India till elections are completed and also no new development work could be started by the Corporation due to imposition of MCC,” Commissioner, JMC, Vikas Sharma told The News Now.
In the last 6 months, since the formation of JMC, a paltry amount of Rs 13.60 crore has been provided to the Corporation for undertaking development works in all the seventy five (75) wards, sources said.
“Only the state government provided around Rs 13.60 crore to the JMC for carrying out development works in all the wards,” Mayor, JMC, Chander Mohan Gupta told The News Now.
Sources said that under the available funds of Rs 13.60 crore, each corporator was told to prepare estimates upto Rs 10 lakh for starting development works in his ward. Due to meager funds, the development works are only restricted to lanes and drains.
Updated On 3/16/2019 11:41:51 AM