Central Dues To Local Bodies To Be Vetted: Jagmohan

The Union minister for urban development, Jagmohan, has promised to look into the problem of heavy default by Central government agencies to civic bodies in West Bengal.

The Indian Railways alone owes Howrah Municipal Corporation Rs 300 crore in service tax. Dues to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) are nearly Rs 50 crore.

The West Bengal urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya told newsmen here yesterday that Jagmohan was sympathetic to the demand for necessary constitutional amendment empowering civic bodies to tax Central government properties.

Jagmohan is in Calcutta in

connection with the two-day

regional meet on devolution of functional and financial powers to urban local bodies.

The CMC mayor Prasanta Chatterjee said the necessary amendment will enable the civic bodies to not only tax Central properties, but also use the sub-soil for various service connections. Changed legal provisions will also empower the CMC to charge private agencies for use of the sub-soil. Chatterjee was referring

to the CESC-owned underground power cables and also the optical fibre cables network laid by the company to carry television programmes.

Jagmohan regretted that the financial and management needs of Indian cities have been underplayed. Although 90 per cent of government revenues and 60 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) came from the urban areas, in return, they received only 0.6 per cent of the GDP at the municipal level.

Jagmohan said, "It is obvious that our municipalities have not benefited from the magnitude of activities that take place within their jurisdiction and are thus prejudicial to the Indian economy. Against this position in India, the ratio of local expenditure to total expenditure was 22 per cent in 18 industrialised nations, 20 per cent for four east European countries and nine per cent for 16 developing countries."

Percentage of plan allocation for urban development schemes has declined from 8 per cent of the total Plan outlay in 1951 to 2.6 per cent now. "In the arena of urban infrastructure alone, at least Rs 20,000 crore per annum would be required over the next 10 years, over and above the plan resources, to make good the present deficiencies," he said.