Waste management, drinking water get priority in Alappuzha municipal Budget

Drinking water, housing, waste management and health received major thrust in the Alappuzha municipality’s Budget for 2023-24.

Drinking water, housing, waste management and health received major thrust in the Alappuzha municipality’s Budget for 2023-24.

The ₹3.59-crore surplus Budget, with a revenue of ₹280.46 crore and an expenditure of ₹276.87 crore, was presented by Municipal vice-chairman P.S.M. Hussain on Tuesday.

The Budget earmarked ₹28 crore for providing free drinking water connections to 22,000 households. Mr. Husssain said that an amount of ₹15 crore had been set aside for replacing 45-km pipeline. Besides, a sum of ₹2.40 crore has been allocated for buying a standby motor and repairing the old motor at the Thakazhi plant.

To ensure housing to land-holding homeless, the civic body will construct 841 homes at a cost of ₹8.60 crore. The Budget set aside an amount of ₹68 crore for laying pipelines to carry septage from nine wards to the waste treatment plant.

The T.V. Thomas Memorial Town Hall will be reconstructed at a cost of ₹20 crore. The Budget proposes to construct a shopping mall, rooms and quarters on Sathram complex compound spending ₹15 crore. For women’s empowerment, a sum of ₹14 crore has been earmarked for setting up a job training centre on Alappuzha beach.

Twelve health wellness centres will be set up in Alappuzha town at ₹12 crore. A sum of ₹1 crore has been set aside for the development of dialysis unit at General Hospital, Alappuzha. A green facilitation centre will be opened at Alissery at ₹1 crore. The Budget allocated ₹1 crore to buy land for rehabilitating street vendors.

Other major proposals in the Budget include setting up a pine park on Alappuzha beach (₹1.5 crore), Food-Art-Night street (₹50 lakh), rejuvenation of public ponds (₹75 lakh) and paddy seed distribution (₹20 lakh).