State govt raises grant to NMC

Nagpur: In a major relief for the cash-strapped Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Maharashtra government has agreed to increase its grant in lieu of local body tax by Rs19 crore from the existing Rs30.98 crore. The NMC will get the revised grant from January 2016, confirmed a senior officer from LBT department. The BJP-ruled NMC had demanded Rs65 crore per month from the state government in lieu of LBT. The government sanctioned only Rs30.98 crore which had crippled the civic body financially.The condition deteriorated further when state government abolished LBT on fuel. The civic body used to collect Rs55 crore per annum as LBT on petrol and diesel each year.
Mayor Pravin Datke said the state government would have to compensate for scrapping the LBT on fuel. Already the civic body is concerned over poor grant provided by the state government in lieu of LBT. Led by Datke and tax consultative committee chairman Girish Deshmukh, NMC had approached chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and demanded an increase in the grant from Rs30.98 crore.
The civic body is in serious financial trouble. Its revenue in the first six months of the current fiscal was only 45% of the target. Against the standing budget of Rs1,965.12 crore, the civic body could only generate about Rs400 crore.