FY 2023-24: Proposed Budget of SMC passed with majority support
siliguri: The proposed Budget of Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) was passed with majority support on Friday. Amit Jain, the opposition leader of SMC along with four BJP councillors, staged a walk out.
Gautam Deb, Mayo, SMC reacting to this, stated: “They did not have anything to say against the Budget. They already had a plan of walking out from the Budget discussion. Thus they walked out by raising an unnecessary issue during discussion.”
Although, four councillors affiliated to the Left Front and one Congress councillor did not support the Budget, the Budget was passed with a majority support.
On March 22, Deb had placed a budget of Rs 591 crore and 77 lakh for the financial year 2023-24 and a revised Budget of Rs 234 crore 31 lakh for the 2022-23 financial year.
On Friday, discussion took place on the proposed Budget at the head office of Siliguri Municipal Corporation. The BJP councillors along with the Opposition leader walked out as soon as discussions started. They raised the ward office issue of ward number 24 over which Trinamool and BJP workers had locked horns on Thursday.
As the topic was not related to the Budget, Pratul Chakraborty, the Chairman of SMC ordered them to discuss only about matters related to the Budget. Thereafter, all of them walked out. The Left Front councillors did not support the Budget. Munsi Nurul Islam, the CPI(M) councillor alleged that there is nothing mentioned for the slum development in the Budget. He raised questions on ‘Talk to Mayor’ programme, along with Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and new drinking water project.
“We are reassessing the project announced by the Food and Supply department where 10 kg of rice is being given to the slum dwellers. We are reassessing the work of the project in this region to find out whether the actual beneficiaries are benefiting or not. After the reassessment, the work will resume,” replied the Mayor.
Deb declared that he has been visiting ward number 3, 5, 14, 34, 35, 41, 45 and 46 after getting complaints through the Talk to Mayor programme. “The past board could have taken up such programmes but they didn’t. They should appreciate our work,” stated Deb.
