Thiruvananthapuram Corporation unveils Rs 1,928.34 crore budget for election year
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Giving a major thrust to welfare schemes, sustainable development, waste management, empowerment of women, children and the elderly, the city corporation budget was presented for the fiscal year with an outlay of Rs 1,928.34 crore on Tuesday. The civic body has an estimated Rs 257.64 crore surplus and a total revenue of Rs 2,185.99 crore.
The budget, presented by Deputy Mayor and finance standing committee chairman P K Raju, has allocated Rs 305 crore for infrastructure projects and town planning-related projects, of which Rs 200 crore will be utilised for road development. The civic body has also decided to upgrade all major corporation roads to BM&BC standards for improving durability.
The budget has also announced subsidies for beneficiaries installing solar panels at households and those switching to EVs. As part of the project, the civic body will be giving Rs 10,000 each to 10,000 beneficiaries this fiscal for installing solar panels. Promotion of organic farming is another major announcement in the budget, with focus on converting barren private land to farmland and generating livelihood for a total of 500 women.
Waste management has received a major boost with an allocation of around Rs 300 crore. An amount of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for setting up a Compressed Biogas Plant with a capacity to process 150 tonnes of biodegradable waste.
The budget also proposes an initiative to collect and dispose of biomedical waste from households. Trashbooms will be deployed in water bodies to prevent marine pollution, Sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Rajaji Nagar and Mathipuram are among the major waste management projects proposed in the budget.
Many women-friendly projects have been announced in the budget. They include women fitness centres, ladies only bus services, martial arts training, CCTVs at women fitness centres and gym, a 24-hour toll free women help desk at every zonal offices.
The budget has also mooted a project for installation of CCTVs at all schools. Modernisation of anganwadis, nutrition screening test for children, school counselling, swimming pools and gyms at schools are other major announcements in the education sector.
In the wake of growing drug abuse, the budget has allocated Rs 1.5 crore for Drug-Free Trivandrum project. It has also earmarked Rs 100 crore for the completion of projects under Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL), which will be winding up this month.
An amount of Rs 200 crore has also been set aside for flood mitigation projects and Rs 22 crore for various disaster management initiatives. The budget will be passed in the council on Friday after two days of discussion.
Major allocations
Town planning and infra devpt: K305 cr
Housing schemes: K220 cr
Waste management: K80 cr
Poverty alleviation and livelihood: K85 cr
Health sector: K77.17 cr
Education sector: K65.16 cr
Women empowerment and welfare: K67.40 cr
Organic farming and livelihood generation: K48 cr
Fisheries sector and fishermen welfare: K41 cr
Elderly protection and welfare: K40 cr
SC/ST welfare: K38.20 cr
Social justice and child devpt schemes: K34.75 cr
Zero Carbon Ananthapuri: K28 cr
Sports and youth welfare schemes: K19 cr