Jaipur: Under the previous municipal board, a budget of Rs 1 crore per ward was not enough to meet requirements for road repairs, streetlights and other basic infrastructure. Now, the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) plans to provide up to Rs 50 lakh per ward for development works under its 100-day action plan, raising questions about how much pending work can be completed with a smaller allocation.JMC mayor Sunil Kothari said, “Development works worth Rs 50 lakh will be undertaken in each ward. This allocation is for the current financial year, of which around six months have already passed. Councillors can recommend essential works based on their priorities, including drains, sewerage and improvements to parks. These works can also be taken up under the Centre’s Smart Cities Mission or the state govt’s AMRUT scheme.”He clarified that the allocation would come with certain restrictions and would not be an unrestricted budget. The selection and approval of projects have to follow prescribed provisions.The corporation also plans to buy eight litter-picker machines to improve cleaning operations. However, the tender process is still under way, and the buy is yet to be completed. The machines will be used to collect waste from open spaces and will be available in each zone for deployment in wards as required.Kothari said all planned works under the 100-day action plan would be completed within the stipulated period.Cleaning “Gandi Galiya” of the Walled City is also part of the plan. Kothari said this was a major problem and that the corporation would draw up a proper plan and allocate a budget for the work after Diwali.The corporation faces the task of balancing ward-level infrastructure needs with a limited allocation, while completing the buy of new machines and carrying out the planned cleaning drive within 100 days.
