GVMC is looking for helping hands

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Visakhapatnam: Fund-starved GVMC has been trying for financial assistance from corporate sector. Even though government has been providing grants under various programmes civic organisation has not been able to expand its new projects and improvisation activity due to dearth of financial sources.
 
Urbanisation has been on the rise with 31.1 per cent of the population in the country, on an average, residing in these areas. With the deteriorating fiscal health of state governments, the access of urban local bodies to get its funding from the state budgetary support mechanism for the funding of capital projects remains under pressure.
 
The municipal bodies mainly generate their revenues from exclusive taxes, revenue shared taxes, and non-tax revenues. Exclusive taxes comprise property tax, including vacant land tax, professional tax, entertainment tax and advertisement tax. The revenue-shared taxes include all the taxes on goods and services levied by the state government while user charges, trade licensing fee and development charges form a part of non-tax revenues.
 
To meet the demand from the municipal bodies the Union government initiated Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for providing necessary support for them for improving conditions of Water Supply, Sewerage, Drainage/ Storm water Drainage, Solid Waste Management, Roads and Flyovers, Public Transport System, Urban Transport, Urban Renewal, Development of Heritage Areas, Preservation of Water Bodies, and Parking.
 
Still, many major projects related to education, sanitation, health, urban community, parks and cemeteries and sports wings in the city are looking for support from various major industries in and around the city for financial support under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
 
In fact, for any proposed project Centre will provide 50 per cent, state government 20 per cent and the urban local body concerned will have to contribute rest of the 30 per cent of the total cost for implementing the project. Unable to bear the contribution part, the GVMC was not able to extend projects and has been seeking support outside help.  
 
Pushcarts, bins, sanitation vehicles and equipment, biogas plants, maintenance of hospitals under PPP mode, various components under urban community development such as maintenance of night shelters, training and placement support to BPL women, safe drinking water for slums, day care/old age homes, mobile hospitals, support for education, alternative power generation, adoption of 97 municipal schools, improvement of parks and gardens, beautification of roads and encouragement to sports.
 
“As the organization is under severe pressure with a deficit of around Rs 300 crore, we are forced to approach such industrial units for necessary support improving the basic amenities. It is just win-win situation at both the ends,” said a senior official from the corporation.