With just a month remaining until the end of the financial year, Kozhikode Corporation’s annual expenditure is yet to cross 50%, leading to criticism from the opposition. However, the authorities are confident that the figure will easily cross 70% by March 31, once the pending bills are passed and documentation is completed.
The Corporation’s total allotment for the financial year 2024-25 was ₹115.48 crore, of which ₹54.34 crore (47.06%) has been spent. This includes 47.8% expenditure in the General category and 41.08% in the Scheduled Castes category. The allotment for the Scheduled Tribe category remained unspent as there were no beneficiaries in that category in the city.
The Corporation has, however, spent 57.71% of the total ₹35.4 crore allotment for roads and non-road projects. Expenditure in the roads category has already reached a record 73.17%.
“It is too early to calculate the expenditure. We have several bills to be cleared. By the end of the year, we will have spent more than 70% of the total funds,” said Corporation secretary K.U. Bini, adding that the Corporation was one of the leading ones in terms of expenditure in the State.
The current anxiety about low expenditure stems from the poor expenditure of the Corporation in the previous financial year (2023-24), which was less than 39%. However, the authorities have pointed to the treasury ban at the time and several other unprecedented issues as reasons for the performance while noting that the Corporation had performed quite well (close to 80%) in the years before.
“Our team is working really hard to complete the projects. We will do well this year too,” Ms. Bini expressed confidence.
Published – February 28, 2025 08:49 pm IST