Mayor R Priya of Chennai Corporation presented her second budget. The revenue receipts for 2023-23 is estimated to be about Rs 4131.70 crore and expenditure is expected to be about Rs 4466.29 crore. Property tax collection is expected to be Rs 1680 crore in 2023-24.
The budget focuses on education and infrastructure needs by offering high allocations. In the infrastructure front, allocation for storm water drains has been increased by Rs 200 crore amounting to Rs 1482 crore. Modernising and expanding bus routes have received a huge fillip. From a, meager Rs 36 crore last year, about Rs 881 crore has been budgeted this year. The allocation for solid waste management has seen a dip at Rs 260.52 crore against the revised estimate of Rs 184.73 crore.
In the education front, Government school students who secure cent per cent marks in 12th final exam will be given a cash prize of Rs 10,000 per subject. Rs 1 crore has been allocated for providing snacks to corporation schools students in classes 10 and 12 participating in special classes. The corporation has also announced that it will bear tuition costs for the first year for students who pass courses like JEE, CLAT, NEET and enter universities like IIT, National Law School, AIIMS and MMC.
To directly listen to citizen queries, Mayor Priya announced the Makkalai Thedi Mayor initiative, where she will meet people and get the true pulse.
