The BBMP budget for 2012-13 is highly unrealistic and many infrastructure projects planned for this year will not be executed, said opposition leader in the BBMP council M.K. Gunashekar on Monday. The BBMP, which is ruled by the BJP, has failed to maintain transparency in preparing the budget. The ruling party has delayed the budget by three months and by the time the state government approves it, hardly six or seven months would remain of the financial year without allowing the departments concerned to execute the works, he said.
For effective implementation of the proposals in the budget, it has to be presented at least three weeks before the financial year commences, he advised. The urban development department had warned last year that if the budget is not presented on time, the state funds would not flow into the palike. It said if the 13 State Finance Commission (SFC) funds are not utilised, they would be diverted to other states. But the ruling party has taken the warning lightly, he said.
According to the rules laid down under the Karnataka Local Fund Authorities Fiscal Responsibility, the public should be consulted at least twice before presenting the budget. This would have avoided deviations from plans. But the BBMP has not taken any such efforts, he said. Ridiculing the BBMP’s efforts to float bonds to raise funds for infrastructure development projects in the state, he said investors were smart enough not to divert funds into these bonds, considering the credit rating of the BBMP. The projects planned under the bond funds would go for a toss. The credit rating of the BBMP – BBB (triple B) – does not encourage the people to invest, he said. Cities like Greater Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Surat, Delhi, Thane and others, whose credit rate is satisfactory with AA rating, can float bonds and get the money for development projects, he said.