India Ratings and Research, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group,
has given an ‘AA+/Stable’ rating to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) for its financial performance during the 2020-21 financial year. NMMC is the only civic body in the country to have achieved AA+ ratings for seven years in a row.
India Ratings and Research is a nationally recognized financial institution that annually declares credit ratings of various institutions. The ratings can prove beneficial in attracting investments from the private sector.
“NMMC is one of the most sought-after cities in the country for habitat and the civic body has always paid close attention to the quality of services provided to the citizens with a far-sighted approach. However, at the same time, strict attention has been paid to revenue collection and expenditure and a proper balance of accounts is being maintained. It is a matter of pride for all the citizens of Navi Mumbai to get the best financial credit rating consistently,” said Abhijeet Bangar, municipal commissioner of NMMC.
The financial position of NMMC has remained viable due to the consistency in tax collections in the last financial year despite the COVID 19 restrictions on many areas. During this period, the 'Property Tax Abhay Yojana' was effectively implemented to provide relief to the weary property tax holders. The scheme received a good response from the citizens.
As the civic services are being provided from the funds received through various taxes, it has become possible to provide better quality facilities to the citizens of Navi Mumbai.
NMMC’s Chief accounts and finance officer Dhanraj Garad along with his team paid close attention to the financial planning of the corporation.
“Consistency in tax collection and planned expenditure were stressed. Payments are made through the innovative 'Host to Host' system by the accounts department and any payment of the corporation is credited directly to the bank account of the supplier,” said a senior official from the department. He added that that transparency in the work, paperless and speedy administration are other factors for getting a good financial rating consistently.
