PORVORIM: Villagers from Penha-de-Franca have expressed unhappiness over the provision of Rs 1 lakh made for all sports clubs in the panchayat budget, insisting that the prominent clubs should be given bigger amounts than the dormant clubs in the village. During the recent Penha-de-Franca Panchayat meeting, the villagers approved the proposed budget for 2014-15.
In the Rs 2.21 crore budget, the panchayat has shown grants from government as Rs 61.31 lakh, out of which octroi is Rs 45 lakh, matching grants (Rs 4.25 lakh) and other grants (Rs 2.37 lakh). Income for 2014-15 by way of taxes and fees has been projected as Rs 65.50 lakh, which comprises house tax (Rs 45 lakh) and professional tax (Rs 18 lakh). The income through fees has been estimated to be Rs 25.24 lakh, which includes construction license fees (Rs 6 lakh), garbage fees (Rs 5.50 lakh) and sanitation and health fees (Rs 3 lakh).
On the expenditure front, Rs 70.57 lakh has been earmarked for public works, which includes construction of drains and roads, development of open spaces and gardens, purchase of electrical materials, garden play equipment, etc, while administration expenses have been shown as Rs 31.70 lakh.
For sanitary and public health and family welfare, a provision of Rs 73.30 lakh has been made in the budget, out of which Rs 20 lakh is for solid waste management, Rs 40 lakh for door-to-door garbage collection and disposal and Rs 5 lakh towards purchase of garbage bins. An amount of Rs 4.85 lakh has been earmarked for social work, out of which Rs 1 lakh is for sports clubs and Rs 1.30 lakh for firewood.
The villagers were unhappy with the provision of Rs 1 lakh made for sports clubs in the budget. They claimed that the panchayat should stop the practice of paying equal amount to all the clubs in Penha-de-Franca area.
They said some sports clubs in Penha-de-Franca are very active in the field of football and they have earned name for themselves and for the village by winning trophies. Such clubs should be encouraged by offering bigger amounts than the
dormant clubs.
