VIJAYAWADA: Aiming at making all urban local bodies (ULBs) self-sustainable, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday said that revenue from municipal corporations and municipalities should be spent on development of the respective ULBs. The State government will not use those funds for anything else, he added.
He also directed Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) officials to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on development of ULBs and reforms needed to provide better services to the public.
During a review meeting on central guidelines and recommendations for ULBs at his camp office on Thursday, the Chief Minister also said employees’ salaries will be paid directly by the government under ‘010’ head of account.
He added that the revenue of each municipality and corporation must be spent locally on various projects and initiatives, as this would make the municipalities self-sustainable. Jagan also asked the officials concerned to draft an SOP for ULBs by considering the revenue they generate, the expenditure they need for development, salary payable to employees, revenue gap, and other factors. “The SOP should also have details on what could be done better in municipalities and corporations,” he said.
Taking stock of the sanitation requirements, the Chief Minister emphasised the need for effective operation and management of water and sewage systems.
He said garbage collection has to be done daily, besides maintenance of drains and streets. “Only the charges for sanitation, water and sewerage have to be collected, and not for any other service,” he added.
MAUD Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, Principal Secretary (Finance) SS Rawat and MAUD secretary J Syamala Rao were at the meeting.
