Khulna City Corporation (KCC) Mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleque on Wednesday (August 26) announced around 504.31 crore taka budget for 2020-2021 fiscal year.
He announced the annual budget at a press conference held at Nagar Bhaban’s Shaheed Altaf Auditorium here maintaining health guidelines due to the coronavirus pandemic.
No new tax has been imposed in the budget like previous years.
This year’s budget is not the biggest in size like last year. On July 24, 2019 the Mayor announced an ever-biggest budget since the establishment of the city corporation in 1984, putting special emphasis on water logging, infrastructure improvement, digitalization and sanitation.
“We didn’t fulfil our development goals and some obstacles have also been created to achieve the target budget (2019-20FY) due to the global coronavirus pandemic,” Khaleque said.
Despite the Covid-19 situation, KCC has achieved 67.32 percent development works of the 2019-2020 FY targets, he added.
Highlighting the overview of the ongoing and proposed development projects of the city corporation, he stated that the budget has been formulated for expanding civic services.
Mayor Khaleque, who announced the second annual budget of the present council, said the proposed budget for 2019-2020 fiscal year was Taka 865.54 crore, which has been revised at Taka 582.72 crore.
At the function, he said two major projects on infrastructure developments including the city’s important damaged roads and drainage system repairing and development are being implemented at a total cost of around Taka 1431.36 crore.
“We have planned 10 more need-based projects with an estimated cost of around Taka 101 crore,” he added.
Three development projects have already been completed in last FY, he said, adding that without siltation of the Rupsha and Bhairab Rivers, water logging problem of the city would not be removed despite eviction of illegal structures besides 22 canals.
In the budget, the KCC has fixed a target of revenue earning to the tune of Taka 166.96crore from own sources.
Parliament member of Khulna-2 constituency Sheikh Salahuddin Jewel virtually joined the conference from the capital while President of Finance and Establishment Standing Committee of the KCC Councilor Sheikh Md Gausul Azam presided over the budget announced press conference.
KCC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Palash Kanti Bala delivered the welcome speech and screened a video documentation on development works of the KCC.
Panel Mayors, Councilors, leaders of different professional bodies, elite, media personnel, among others, were present.
Source: BSS
