VIJAYAWADA: The ruling TD is in a soup over preparation of the Budget for the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation. The civic body has withdrawn the Budget proposals sent to the standing committee though they were already approved. A fresh notification was issued to convene the standing committee meeting to approve the draft proposals on February 6. Opposition parties now allege that the ruling party, particularly mayor Koneru Sridhar, has been acting unilaterally in preparing the Budget proposals.
YSRC Floor leader B. Punyaseela said that the Budget preparations were being done in gross violation of the rules. She pointed out that draft proposals should be sent for approval of the standing committee before December 10, but they were sent on December 27. “For the first time in the history of VMC, Budget proposals were withdrawn after the standing committee approved them. This shows the inability of the ruling party in preparing the Budget,” Ms Punyaseela she alleged.
She said that the VMC should present the Budget before the Council by February 20 according to the bylaws, a scenario that does not appear possible since the draft was yet to be ratified by the standing committee. CPM Floor leader Gade Adilakshmi said that group politics within the ruling Telugu Desam has tarnishing the image of VMC. The mayor’s decision to extend the lease of 104 shops without the approval of the standing committee was opposed by the TD members shows the state of things in ruling party, she said. Ms Adilakshmi added that withdrawing the Budget proposals after the standing committee’s approval exposed the lapses in administration.
However, deputy mayor G. Venkata Ramana Rao denied the allegations and said the Budget will be presented before February 20. He said the Budget proposals approved by the standing committee were withdrawn only to correct a few errors noticed after the meeting.
