Madurai Mayor presents ₹5.84 crore surplus budget

Madurai Mayor presents ₹5.84 crore surplus budget, focusing on infrastructure, waste management, and civic amenities.

Madurai Mayor Indrani Pon Vasanth presented a surplus budget of ₹5.84 crore at the Madurai Corporation’s headquarters, Anna Maaligai, on Monday, March 4, 2024.

Reading out the proposals for the ensuing financial year and the work completed by the Madurai Corporation over the last fiscal, she said that the Corporation had a total revenue of ₹1,296.06 crore against an expenditure of ₹1,290.22 crore.

With numerous projects underway across all 100 wards, the Mayor said that the civic body had received funds from the Union and State governments as borrowings and subsidies among others. A few projects are also being executed with funds from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), she said.

Among the highlights of the budget was the announcement that from the ensuing year, each council member in Madurai Corporation would get ₹25 lakh each as ward development funds.

Ms. Pon Vasanth said there were 11,149 roads including tar, paver block and cement among others in the city covering 16.86 lakh metres. After the recent rains and floods, many roads that were damaged, were being spruced up.

With the objective of bringing down the expenses incurred by way of electricity consumption, streetlights are to be replaced with more efficient bulbs, Ms. Pon Vasanth said.

With regard to solid waste management, only 63 wards had proper underground drainage (UGD) systems. Steps were being taken to provide proper UGDs in the remaining 37 wards. Already, with funds of ₹775.82 crore, the Corporation had laid a UGD network on the North Bank of Vaigai river covering 20 wards under the Smart City Initiative. Close to 93% of the work has been completed, the Mayor said.