Maharashtra: BMC allocates Rs. 2,945.78 cr for education in budget

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday announced the allocation of funds for its education budget for the year 2021-22.The budgetary estimates for the year are set at ₹2945.78 crore, which is marginally higher than that of the previous year wherein the budgetary estimates were ₹2944.59 crore.The civic body has set aside an amount of ₹15.90 crore for supplying essential Covid-19 equipment like hand sanitisers, soap, hand wash and others, anticipating the re-opening of schools in the coming days.It is also working to form a child protection team in order to look at matters with relation to the violation of child rights and similar other grievances.A policy draft for the same is currently underway. ₹2 crore has been set aside for the opening of 10 new CBSE schools under the civic body.These schools will be housed in existing BMC buildings and will be free of the children of the respective buildings.The introduction of new taxes for the residents of Mumbai is unlikely consideing the coronavirus pandemic but a revision of the property tax, done every five years, is on the cards as per civic officials.It is also expected that the civic body will prioritise expenditure in key areas like health, education, and infrastructure-related developments.“Every year, there is an 8% to 10% increase in the budget. Our budget will be larger than last year this year as well, and the capital expenditure will also be more. Moreover, important departments such as health, education, and infrastructure will not see a cut in budgetary allocation or a reduction in the budget outlay in comparison to last year,” said a senior civic officer.The BMC budget in the ongoing fiscal 2019-2020 was pegged at ₹33,441.02 crores, which was 8.95% more than the previous year’s budget.Budget 2018-19 was pegged at ₹30,692.59 crores.Budget 2021: What is in it for MumbaiBMC SCHOOLS TO BE RENAMED: Mumbai’s municipal schools will now be renamed as Mumbai Public Schools10 NEW CBSE SCHOOLS: The civic body plans to open 10 new CBSE schools. These schools will be housed in existing BMC buildings and will be free for all students.A budgetary provision of ₹2 crore has been made for the purposeVACCINE FOR 1 CRORE MUMBAIITES: The budget mentions that the BMC plans to vaccinate around 1 crore citizens of Mumbai for Covid-19BEAUTIFICATION OF PUBLIC SPACES: The BMC has allocated ₹200 crore in 2021-22 budget for beautification of footpaths, traffic island and spaces below flyovers, along with wall painting and Mumbai Street Food HubSHOOTING TRAINING CENTRE: The BMC is exploring construction of a new shooting training centre with the latest technology to train aspiring shooters to perform at national and international competitions. The BMC has allocated ₹1 crore for thisAQUARIUM AND MARINE RESEARCH CENTRE: The BMC has proposed to construct aquarium and marine research centre at par with international standards on Worli Dairy plot, after getting fund assistance from the Maharashtra government.DABBEWALA BHAVAN: The civic body will set up a Dabbewala Bhavan in central Mumbai. The budget says, “Dabbewalas are the pride of Mumbai City. They have been a part of the Mumbai City for more than a century and continue to deliver home cooked meals to about 2 lakh employees, everyday.”BEST REVIVAL: The BMC has made provision of ₹750 crore in 2021-22 for BEST undertaking, considering public transportation in the city. BEST supplies electricity in island city and operates bus services in the city. It is second largest public transport system in Mumbai.COASTAL ROAD, GMLR: Mumbai coastal road project has got ₹2,000.07 crore in BMC budget. Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) gets ₹1,300 croreFLOODING SPOTS: 97 flooding-prone spots will remain in the city during the monsoon of 2021. 40 of these will be tackled by the BMC before the monsoon of 2022, and 44 are on government or private property. A total of 386 spots were identified, of which 171 have been tackled already; 118 are being tackledNEW ADMINISTRATIVE WARD: The BMC has proposed to divide P/North ward of Malad into two – P/East and P/West. This will increase the number of administrative wards in the city from 24 to 25. The budget has made a provision of ₹5 crore for itIMPLEMENTATION OF DP: The BMC has allocated ₹5,947 crore for implementation of development plan 2034ROBOTS, DRONES FOR FIREFIGHTING: The major projects proposed for fire brigade in 2021-22 include purchasing fire robots, purchasing fire drone for surveillance and assessment. Mumbai Fire Brigade has been allocated ₹199 crore in the budget