Budget: NDMC promises to walk the talk, ‘Smart City’ aim main thrust

Geared towards pushing the ‘Smart City’ objective focusing on solar energy, installation of LED street lights, automated parking facility and free wifi, along with other measures, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Wednesday presented its budget for fiscal year 2016-17.

With a surplus amount of Rs 8 crore, which is nearly Rs 19 crore less in comparison to the last year’s surplus, the NDMC projected a total receipt of Rs 3458.33 crore as against the estimated expenditure of Rs 3450.81 crore. The budget also spelled relief for property owners in the area as no hike has been announced for the next fiscal year.

The Chairman, Naresh Kumar, talked about the various initiatives taken to bring Delhi at par with other smart cities across the world. “This is the first occasion when the Council has introduced smart medical services, smart education, smart water supply, green and happy NDMC, smart grid and energy management, smart street poles, solar energy and several other initiatives,” said Kumar, adding, basic premise of a smart city is infrastructure network and to make delivery of services for the common man speedier and more effective.

For a country poised to become one of the largest economies, nothing short of being the best Capital city in the world would do justice. New Delhi Municipal Council has a vision to become the global benchmark for a Capital city and the NDMC has the responsibility to provide a city that will allow its citizens to achieve their aspirations.

As per the data, allocation for capital expenditure has been increased by 115 per cent from Rs 191.93 crore in revised estimates of 2015-16 to Rs 412.47 in budget estimates of 2016-17. The Council generates around 95 per cent of its revenue on its own strength. This money comes through licence fees, user charges, tax revenue and interest earned on its investments.

The civic body has allocated Rs 187.71 crore for education services, including the setting up of technology-enabled classrooms in five NDMC schools, a state-of-the-art technical institute for boys for job-oriented skill development on the lines of ITIs and establishment of library-cum-reading rooms in four areas, of which, two will be for boys and the remaining for girls. A total of Rs 15.25 crore for capital expenditure and Rs 125.76 crore revenue expenditure have been estimated for health services.

After selection for the Smart City Mission, the NDMC has announced to spend a whopping Rs 194 crore from its exchequer while a similar amount, which will be received from the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) as the first installment, will also be spend for this purpose. “The agency is committed to make the city smart and for this it has reserved adequate fund. Once Centre will release its own share, development of the area will be on a fast track,” said the Chairman.