Thiruvananthapuram: Major share of budget for housing

Thiruvananthapuram: A major share of this year’s budget of the city corporation will be set apart for housing schemes. When deputy mayor Rakhi Ravikumar presents the budget on Friday, she will have to keep apart  at least Rs 50 crore for Pradhan Mantri Awaz Yojna (PMAY), say sources in the civic body.

For, local bodies will have to contribute Rs 2 lakh  ever since LSGD minister announced that PMAY beneficiaries in the state will get Rs 4 lakh. Unlike beneficiaries in other states who get just Rs 3 lakh, of which Rs 50,000 is the beneficiary share, no beneficiary in Kerala will have to put in any share. The difference will be borne by the local body, according to officials.     

Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, which has already deposited over Rs 26 crore as its PMAY share, will have to find more than Rs 130 crore, they say.
This year, the corporation will be forced to allocate more for water conservation. The guidelines for fund allocations say that at least 15 percent  of the total funds need to be set apart  for waste management and water conservation.

Officials  say that many of the bills are  pending at the treasury. “The expenditure could be anywhere near 61 percent, according to the bills we have submitted. However,  the expenditure is not getting reflected as the bills have not been passed at the treasury,” said an official. Bills submitted on March 3 were passed on March 13, whereas in previous years they were  passed in the same day,  he said.

Many officials have been hinting at the state treasury not having enough money. However,  state treasury director A.M. Jaffer said that there has been no constraint on passing the bills of local bodies.