As the presentation of the annual budget of the Municipal Corporation reveals how many new taxes are to be levied, which ones are to be withdrawn, how much is to be spent on development in the next financial year, it becomes an eagerly awaited event.
Municipal Corporation 2018 Budget at a Glance:
The budget this year is 248 crores. It was 359 crores in the previous year, However, in addition to this, contribution to the smart city is 1500 lac, to Amrit Yojana 1000 lac and to Ayad river project it is 3000 lacs.
The item wise breakup of the budget in lacs is:
- cleanliness and disposal of waste (900)
- mechanized cleaning system (300)
- development of Gulab Bagh (100)
- development of parks (200)
- development of Smriti Van (200)
- maintenance of drains and roads (1300)
- construction of new roads (400)
- beautification of ‘chourahas’ (150)
- sewerage work (150)
- modernization of fire stations (150)
- construction of ‘choupati’ (250)
- development of Pratap Gaurav Kendra (100)
- city buses (100)
- development of Mira Kala Mandir (100)
- development of the museum in Jagdish Chowk library (100)
- vehicles of the corporation, petrol, diesel etc (400)
- purchase of vehicles for fire brigade (100)
- improvement of electricity and underground cable system (150)
- construction of electricity lines of solar energy (100)
- park beautification and keeping the hills green (400)
- removal of encroachment, the safety of community halls and home guard (15) and
- different construction works (600).
Some important decisions were also taken in the budget meetings.
For issuing fire accident certification 20% of the amount would be realized at the time of issue of NOC and the remaining 80% at the time of insurance. It was decided that in case not constructing a building on the allotted piece of land in the municipal jurisdiction two years of allotment, the allotment would be canceled and the person would not be entitled to any land allotment in the future. However, if action is taken within six months of the notice, the punishment can be withdrawn.
At present, the corporation contribution 10% for the setting up of the solar power plant with a capacity of one kilowatt but now, it has been made applicable to 5 kilowatts. An amount of 3 crores has been sanctioned for the laser show at Goverdhan Sagar. The corporation would give incentive amount for water harvesting system in houses that are in its jurisdiction.
For this, rupees fifty lac are to be given to the Corporation from MLA quota. The incentive amount now is to be up to 1500 sq ft. (1100) 1500 to 2100 (1500) and 2400 to 2700 (2100). It has also been decided to create a post of additional executive engineer. One strange decision taken in the meeting was that when someone lodges a complaint about encroachment by another house, first of all, the corporation would examine it is so, first of all, action would be taken against him before anything is done against the person when a complaint has been lodged.
There were several important points that were discussed in the meeting.
It was discussed that in the absence of any monitoring after removal of encroachment, in most cases illegal construction is done again. Some other issues raised during the meeting included the delay in the works related to smart city projects, the action to be taken in case of shops constructed in basements, the procedure for recruitment of Safai-karmis and putting up of display boards about the achievements of the govt.
The Director Local Self Govt. has asked all the local self-bodies to pass their budgets and send them to the state govt. by February 15. The Municipal Councils of Chittorgarh, Banswara, Rajsamand, and Pratapgarh had done so by that date. However, in Udaipur, as the MLA’s were busy in the Vidhan Sabha session, the budget could be passed in March.
Narayan Seva Sansthan is one of the oldest working NGOs of Udaipur and has left quite an impression through its work globally. Set-up in 1985 with the motto ‘Service of humanity is service of God’, this NGO has now over 480 branches in India and 49 abroad. The organization has till date successfully conducted 3,27,108 ‘free of cost’ surgeries through their state-of-the-art prosthetics and orthotics department for patients suffering from polio and other ‘by birth’ disabilities. It also provides ‘free of cost’ lodging and boarding facilities with free meals twice a day and has helped around 0.8 million differently-abled people by providing them with wheelchairs. Donations can be made for the cause through their website.
Hunger is more than a missing meal. It is the lack of food available to people who need it. Hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria, and terrorism combined. To combat this problem, Robinhood Army was founded in 2014 with an aim to kill hunger. It now engages over 12,550 Robins and has collectively served over 4.7 million people across 58 cities out if which the Udaipur chapter has served around 1,50,000 people alone. With a dedicated team and efforts of each and every volunteer, this organization reaches each and every such place where there is surplus food and distributes it to the weaker sections of the society. They can often be seen wearing green t-shirts serving food to the homeless and poor with a smile. Anyone with a hunger for eradicating hunger can volunteer. They do not accept monetary contributions.
Founded in November 2013, Pukaar: Voice of Earth is a voluntary organization consisting of young students who dreamt of a Pollution free Earth, and work for city’s environmental protection and a greener world. The organization has so far dedicated 190 Sundays until January 2018 and restored life to plants in over 20 public parks. Pukaar, in future, aims at empowering rural India through the promotion of social entrepreneurship and assist farmers in learning Organic Farming techniques and other productivity measures. You can volunteer for the cause by reaching them through their Facebook page.
Seva Mandir aims to transform lives through the democratic and participatory development of communities. It works with 3,60,000 people across 700 villages of southern Rajasthan where most people live on less than ₹20 a day. Seva Mandir has been working closely for over 45 years with these people to improve their well-being in areas such as education, childcare, women empowerment, self-governance, health, sustainable natural resources and youth development offering primary education, maternal and child health services, and providing sustainable watersheds for good quality agricultural yields along with much needed sexual health and gender training. Volunteer for this organization and work closely with interns from different age groups, races, and nationalities.
