HYDERABAD: The civil societies in Hyderabad seem to be disapproving of the GHMC’s budget proposals passed by its Standing Committee last week and requested the GHMC Mayor, Bonthu Rammohan to order for revision of the annual budget 2019-20.
The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) has lashed the draft budget of GHMC stating that it has lost sanctity as there are lot of variations in the estimations and actual spending, FGG Secretary, M Padmanabha Reddy said.
The draft budget is not need-based, GHMC officials are preparing the budget that have skewed priorities, while drainage is allocated 4 per cent, roads 16 per cent, but 2 BHK houses get 45 per cent. The present budget does not provide priority items of people. About 50 per cent of the GHMC budget is earmarked for housing (2 BHK houses), though it is good programme being implemented by the government but GHMC has much higher priorities, whereas government has agencies like Housing department and Housing Corporation where they can get the houses constructed through other related departments. FGG wants GHMC Mayor to revise the proposals duly excluding the expenditure on housing and include activities like widening of nalas, roads and laying new roads, new water pipelines, public toilets, cleaning of Hussainsagar lake and Musi river.
Padmanabha Reddy said that Hyderabad that has 430 years of history is neglected by the successive government. Large scale migration of people from villages to the city in search of employment has put heavy burden on the existing civic amenities and GHMC is not able to tackle the problems.
FGG analysed the budget proposal prepared for the year 2019-20 and made observations that the City is lacking basic amenities such as good roads and drainage, about 1,500 registered slums with 25 lakh population are living in inhuman conditions in these slums, lack of public toilets is causing hardships to people especially women, Musi river, Hussainsagar and other tanks are stinking.
“About 25% of the State’s population live in GHMC limits . Further, 60 to 70 % of wealth of the State is generated from Hyderabad alone. That being the case, GHMC should get substantial funds from the State for providing basic amenities to citizens. In Kerala, about 30 per cent of the budget is earmarked to local bodies,” Reddy added.