Municipal corporation transfers Rs 150 crore to Smart City

Remaining Rs 100 crore will be provided in the second phase

Aurangabad, March 23:

The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) was required to contribute Rs 250 crore in the Smart City scheme before March 31. Municipal administration gave Rs 150 crore in the first phase on Tuesday. The remaining Rs 100 crore will be disbursed soon. Earlier, the corporation had deposited Rs 68 crore in the smart city funds. But the corporation will take back this amount, said chief accounts officer Santosh Wahule.

The Central government included Aurangabad in the Smart City project in 2016. It was decided that a fund of Rs 1000 crore would be made available for various development works. A fund of Rs 500 crore was to be deposited by the Central government, Rs 250 crore from the State government and Rs 250 crore from the municipal administration.

The Central government has provided Rs 294 crore out of Rs 500 crore and the State government has provided Rs 147 crore out of Rs 250 crore to the administration for smart city till date. The remaining funds of Rs 309 crore will not be sanctioned till the corporation pays its share. The smart city scheme has a term till March 31, 2022. The municipal administration had already deposited Rs 68 crore out of Rs 250 crore. It was decided to take a loan from a nationalized bank for the remaining funds. The Central Bank of India recently approved a loan of Rs 250 crore to the AMC. Out of this loan, Rs 150 crore was paid in Smart City. The remaining Rs 100 crore will be given to Smart City soon. Therefore, the municipal corporation has asked for a refund of Rs 68 crore deposited earlier, said Wahule.