ONGOLE: Reeling under severe fund crunch, Ongole Municipal Corporation (OMC) is waiting for a newly-elected municipal council in order to get more funds from the government to complete stalled development works. The OMC needs around Rs 20 crore to complete several internal road works, drainage canals and drinking water pipeline works among others.
OMC municipal engineer Sundararami Reddy said, “Though the 15th Finance Commission has granted Rs 9 crore, those funds will be used only for new development works. We need additional Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore funds to pay the pending contractor bills in order to complete the stalled works.” The OMC gets a revenue of Rs 23 crore per annum through taxes and another Rs 10 crore through various sources. Out of Rs 23 crore, Rs 18 crore is spent on the salaries of staff, power bills and maintenance charges, and the remaining amount is spent on development works.
With the city on an expansion mode, there are not enough funds for the civic body to take up infrastructure works in newly-developed localities. Around eight new colonies have come up on Koppolu-Ongole Road and three at Pernamitta. Similarly, on Guntur and Vallur roads, several residential colonies have come up. The OMC is not able to ensure infrastructure to the residents of these colonies due to paucity of funds. Contractors have stopped the works midway.
Ongole municipality was upgraded into a municipal corporation in January 2012 with the merger of eight surrounding panchayats. As per 2011 census, the OMC has 50 wards with 2.84 lakh population.