GST share: State govt leaves civic body in the lurch
Ludhiana: The fund-strapped Ludhiana municipal corporation, which depends heavily on GST share from the state every month, has been left in the lurch as the state government has not disbursed the share according to the fixed targets in the past few years.
The civic officials claimed that monthly instalment of GST share helps them pay at least salaries of the employees, but when it becomes irregular, they find it difficult to manage the financial affairs.
In the last financial year (2023-24), the approved budget for GST share was Rs 597 crore, but the civic body only received Rs 402 crore. Similarly in 2022-23, the target was Rs 610 crore, but the MC was provided only Rs 353 crore. For the fiscal years 2021-22, 2020-21 and 2019-20, the set targets were Rs 450 crore, Rs 426 crore and Rs 480 crore, respectively. But it was only in 2021-22 that the MC received Rs 516 crore against Rs 450 crore target as it was an election year.
