Time for another ambitious budget

KOCHI: The annual budget of the Kochi Corporation, that will be presented after the state budget, is expected to give   importance to new projects that can be implemented in a  Public-Private Participation (PPP) mode.  The civic body has already initiated the preparatory works    for the budget which was actually scheduled to be presented  this month. However, with the declaration of election code of conduct for Piravom bypolls, the date was postponed.The Kochi Corporation has already completed the preliminary  round of talks with various stakeholders to gather their  opinions on various projects that will be included in the budget.  The suggestions mainly put forth by the stakeholders include   projects related to Solid Waste Management and infrastructure. In the previous year’s budget, the funds allocation for  various projects was not specified. The Corporation is yet to implement many projects that were prioritised in the last year’s budget.  e-GovernanceThe completion of the e-governance project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) was  given top priority in the last budget. The e-governance  project mainly aims at bringing the major services, including  utility management, property tax, registration of births and deaths, water supply and other utilities, grievances and suggestions and building approvals online. The civic body expects that the implementation of the e-governance project will make the administration more transparent. New Plant at BrahmapuramThe Kochi Corporation’s annual budget for 2011-12 had proposed a new regional solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram. The new plant with an increased capacity will be built on a higher plane, adjacent to the existing plant at Brahmapuram. The existing plant is only capable of treating 250 tonnes a day while the solid waste accumulated in Kochi city and nearby municipalities and panchayats daily is 600 tonnes.The delay in the technology finalisation has hit the corporations plans. The project is also likely to find a place in this year's budget. Among the other non-starters, last year’s budget had also  made provisions to re-tender the Geographic Information System (GIS) project, which helps to collect the details of  every household in the city online. This is yet to be completed.Among the road projects, priority was given for completing the widening of Thammanam-Pulleppady Road. But, the work is moving at a snail’s pace.