Visakhapatnam: The GVMC has approved a budget of Rs 5,614 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal. This includes a Rs 664 crore opening balance.
This time, the budget shows a nearly 25 per cent increase from the last budget which was of Rs 4,303 crore. However, the 2023-24 budget was recently revised to Rs 3,793 crore.
The Telugu Desam, Jana Sena and left corporators have alleged that 98 corporators were not consulted and their opinions not included in the budget. These corporators alleged in the budget meeting that the budget was prepared solely by the officers and did not include the proposals the corporators made on behalf of the people.
The TD alleged that all the budget calculations were a juggling and a gimmick.
When Mayor Golagani Hari Venkata Kumari sought passage of the budget, the TD corporators staged a walkout. Jana Sena and left corporators said the budget proposals should first be sent to the standing committee to revise the allocations, and a revised budget be introduced, the demand was rejected.
The budget was passed with the approval of the YSRC corporators.
As soon as the budget meeting started, the opposition corporators were on their feet. Mayor Kumari presided over the meeting in the GVMC council Hall and delivered the budget speech. After this, the opposition corporators expressed their concern over the continuation of the sanitation workers' strike. “Vizag is stinking,” they said.
The opposition corporators asked the mayor what steps the GVMC took to resolve the issue. They went to the podium and staged a protest by raising slogans. They calmed down when the mayor promised to hold a special meeting with the floor leaders of all parties in the presence of the commissioner.
