Surat: Intense discussions continued on the second day of the two-day meeting of general board of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Tuesday among councillors to pass the Rs 5,109 crore budget for the year 2018-19.There are 116 members of the general board. And of them 79 belong to BJP, 36 to Congress and one who has been expelled from the ruling party supports the opposition now. The budget discussion is expected to continue until midnight. So far 60 councillors have spoken on the budget. Opposition Congress councillors alleged that the ruling BJP was taking SMC towards bankruptcy. The BJP councillors said numerous awards that the civic body had received at national level speak about the sincerity of their party’s drive to uplift people.BJP councillor Anil Goplani said SMC had received as many as 40 national awards between 1997 and 2014. He reminded that UPA government was at the helm of affairs at the Centre for many years then.Goplani stressed on the need for SMC to look at new avenues to generate revenue like giving its plots on rent, letting out space on light poles for advertising and even swimming pools and gardens. He said SMC recovers 51 per cent of the money spent on BRTS and 30 per cent on city bus, which was much higher when compared to other cities. He also reminded the general board members that SMC’s public transport has been adjudged as the best in country.BJP councillor Dr Jagdish Patel said they would not increase property rates but raise user charges gradually. Earlier, Congress councillor Dinesh Kachhadia was suspended for trying to attack a BJP councillor.Congress councillor Aslam Cyclewala alleged BJP rulers promise grants, but they never come. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised Rs 2,100 crore grant for Surat, but nothing has come to the city so far, he said.

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