The Ranchi Municipal Corporation on Monday staked claim in the district’s revenue generated through transfer of property and sales tax besides other sources of revenue that is generated as a result of activities carried out within the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation. The RMC’s board approved the decision which will be sent to the Urban Development department.
The decision was unexpected as it was not in the agenda of the meeting however as the issue of honorarium to councilors created ruckus the board decided to seek share in the revenue generated within its command area. Notably, honorarium to ward councilors was stopped and the RMC was asked to fund its activities through its own resources.
“We have 55 ward councilors and staff in wards. We provide funds for various types of work in ward and we need funds for that. So we decided to ask for share in the revenue generated within municipal area,” said Mayor, Asha lakra.
The board recommended five per cent share in the revenue generated through registry of properties and two percent of the total sales tax collected within its geographical boundary besides share in other revenue generating activities that goes into the district treasury. The proposal will be sent to the Urban Development department in next few days for further action.
Meanwhile, the members of the board expressed concern at the rising problem of water scarcity and failure of the municipal body in addressing the problems as promised in the previous meeting of the board. The board had approved installing handpumps at 151 locations across the city to address the shortage of water however it could not be done because of receding water table.
“We found that water table at two locations receded to 150 feet so handpumps could not be installed so alternative methods need to be explored for putting up handpumps. The proposal was postponed for fresh approval from the board,” said Town Commissioner, Prashant Kumar.
Kumar informed the councilors that problem of water will be addressed with the purchase of 33 additional tankers. The RMC maintains a fleet of 22 tankers.