local NGO Youth for Social Development (YSD) organised a seminar on “Know Your City Budget” on Saturday to create public awareness about the budget of the Brahmapur Municipal Corporation (BMC) and make the budgets at the district level more transparent and citizen-friendly.

Mention may be made that  civil society organisations and community leaders across the country are keen to understand policy decisions pertaining to Government budgets and participate meaningfully in discussions on budgetary priorities. But the limited transparency in the budgets at different levels (Union and State Governments and at the district level) has been a major hindrance, said YSD president loknath Mishra.

The seminar highlighted some core issues in budget allocation and expenditure of the BMC. YSD secretary Bibhu Prasad Sahu pointed out that the BMC’s own income has significantly reduced as the income growth rate which was 17.4 per cent in 2001-02 has come down to 3 three in 2013-14. The BMC is totally dependent on grant-in-aid as 73 per cent (Rs 9,800 lakh) of its total income comes from the State and Central Governments.

Similarly, the per capita income in the BMC has been increasing. It was `325 in 2000-01 and increased ten-fold to `3,025 in 2013-14, he said.

Sahu pointed out that sanitation gets low priority by the BMC with an expenditure of 14.74 per cent (Rs 1,252 lakh). Similarly, the expenditure on water supply remains only at Rs 420 lakh, only 4.95 per cent of the budget, despite the severity of water crisis in the city. Notwithstanding the BMC’s much-hyped commitment for slum-free city, the expenditure on housing for 137 slums and informal settlements in the city is 23.78 per cent. The expenditure on livelihoods for the urban poor is only 8.24 per cent (Rs 700 lakh). The slum population is 1,17,541 constituting 30.5 per cent of the city’s total, the speakers pointed out.

The situation of street lighting is in doldrums with the expenditure being 3 per cent (Rs 260 lakh). And the spending on parks remains as low as 0.12 per cent (Rs 10 lakh), it was pointed out.

Many speakers demanded mandatory public disclosure of budget documents and head-wise allocations before its approval by the BMC so that the denizens would have an opportunity to revise their priorities and needs. They also demanded citizen participation through ward committees in the budget making the process. .

There is a strong public perception that the expenditures by the BMC must be subject to social audit and approval of bills should be made only after physical verification of the works executed including inspection of the quality of the work by the ward committees to ensure transparency and accountability.

The garbage and solid wastes packed in the drains of Park Street vegetable market and sky-high debris at Panabika street for years and the state of recently-constructed roads and drains at Gandhinagar speak of the magnitude of the lack of seriousness of the BMC for public welfare, the speakers observed.

Among others who participated in the seminar included historian Prof Krushna Chandra Jena, advocate Abani Kumar Gaya; social workers Maguni Nahak and Rajanikant Mondal, BJP youth leader Prabhat Kumar Sadangi, Sakuntala Roula, advocate Siba Prasad Mishra; G Sahu and Prof PSN Patra.