COIMBATORE: The fiscal year is drawing to a close, but the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) is yet to start preparations to table its budget proposals for 2025-26. While opposition councillors say the civic body wakes up only at the eleventh hour, residents said most of the projects that were announced in the last two years are yet to be implemented.
While a few corporations in the state have presented their budget proposals, the CCMC has not started the work yet, sources said, adding the civic body was waiting for the state government to table its budget proposals in the legislative assembly.
It may be noted that CCMC was one of the local bodies that table its budget last in the past couple of years. The delay has been attributed to staff shortage. AIADMK floor leader Prabhakaran told TNIE, “The CCMC are in deep sleep. We’ve to wake them up and ask them to start the budget works. The Tiruppur corporation has conducted an all-party meeting regarding the budget but CCMC is yet to conduct a stakeholder meeting to receive suggestions from people.”
He added, “The CCMC announced that every year five best councillors will be selected and awarded. But it was not done. Due to the CCMC’s negligence, the VOC Zoological Park has been closed permanently. During the last budget, CCMC announced that it would turn the zoo into a birds’ park. However, no steps were taken for it. Similarly, a lot of projects announced during the past three budgets have not been executed. Councillors and officials are fooling people by making mere announcements,” he added.
Sources in CCMC cited a list of issues for not being able to implement majority of the projects that were announced in the current FY’s budget. Fund crunch, manpower shortage, frequent transfer of officials and lack of cooperation between the civic body officials & councillors.
Speaking to TNIE, CCMC commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said he would check with officers regarding the list of projects that have not been executed and take action to implement them.”