AGARTALA, June 16 (TIWN): The Agartala Municipal Corporation on Monday announced performance budget for 2013-2014 and the first outcome budget of the Corporation for current financial year with a deficit of Rs. 55 lakh 40 thousand.

Corporation Mayor Dr. Prafullajit Sinha announced the deficit budget this morning at the AMC headquarters in Agartala city and said the budget outlay didn’t propose any hike in taxes.

Speaking to reporters later this afternoon, Corporation mayor Dr. Prafullajit Sinha said total value of revenue receipts and capital receipts mentioned in the budget proposal was Rs. 319 crores 81 lakhs. Revenue and capital expenditure was pegged at Rs. 320 crore 36 lakh 40 thousand with a tolerable deficit of Rs. 55 lakh 40 thousand. The deficit can be filled up from the existing resources of the Corporation and increased coverage of property tax, trade licenses rather than increasing the direct tax over the coming year, Dr. Sinha added.

The Agartala Municipal Council (AMC) had a budgetary deficit of Rs. 50 lakh in the last financial year. The deficit rose by Rs. 5 lakh 40 thousand this year due to enhancement of civic amenities and services allowed to civic residents and higher population covered under the Corporation area.

A total of fifty nine percent of the outcome budget was proposed under development head, 20 percent would be spent for providing basic services to the civic residents, 9 percent would be spent for solid waste management, 8 percent of the budget would be spent for providing salary, allowances for the corporation employees. Four percent of the budget would be spent for providing civic services.

Opposition corporator Tushar Kanti Bhattacharya later opposed the budget proposal and said that the proposal had clear indications of impending hike in property tax. “The mayor said that that tax situation of property tax, trade licenses would be reviewed which is a clear indication of hike”, he said adding that the erstwhile council was following the trend of claiming tax-free budget and later declaring tax hike for past several years at a stretch.

“This budget proposal was a gimmicky, usual and directionless proposal”, Bhattacharya said.

The Corporation council is scheduled to convene again on June 28 and discus before approving the proposal.