For the first time in the history of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC), the civic administration has been forced to change the venue to organize its general body meeting. To maintain physical distancing norms owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the civic administration has planned to complete its annual budget proceedings at one of its community halls in the Indralok areas of Bhayandar (east).
The administration had tabled the budget in March followed by discussions in the standing committee. Subsequently, a lockdown was imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus and the final endorsement by the general body was delayed. Now, the meeting has been scheduled on June 16 in the late Pramod Mahajan Auditorium which houses two air-conditioned community halls.
At present the MBMC general body has 95 elected representatives. “Apart from elected representatives, civic officials and supporting staff also remain present in the general body hall which in the present scenario has insufficient space to adhere to the physical distancing norms which is to be observed in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Arrangements are being fine-tuned.” said municipal secretary Vasudev Shirwalkar.
Municipal commissioner Chandrakant Dange had presented Rs 1,634.55 crore realistic draft budget tagged with a surplus of Rs 22 lakh for the fiscal year 2020-21 on March 15. However, the BJP-led standing committee inflated the figures and added another 178 crores towards anticipated revenue generation targets from heads including development charges and property tax collections.
The Rs 1,812.83 crore budget will be discussed and finalized by the general body. While budgeting is crucial as it establishes a financial roadmap for the civic body in the ensuing financial year, some officials are of the view that it was not the right time to hold meetings as the coronagraph of the twin-city had already reached alarming levels. The cumulative total of Covid-19 positive cases registered by MBMC’s health department has already climbed to 1,021.