The Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority’s (AUDA) Rs 1,210.73 crore annual budget focuses on strengthening and broadening the current road network, supplying water connections to newly constructed residential clusters.
DP Desai, the CEO, presented the Rs 1,210.73 crore budget for this financial year (FY). The focus of the budget is on strengthening and broadening the current road network, supplying water connections to newly constructed residential clusters, and securing the land parcels with the compound walls of AUDA.
Recently, the State Government restricted employing retired officers as consultants. They need to be approved by the authorities before starting the work. Therefore, the AUDA board took another major decision to get the approval of the State Government to continue with the services of 11 retired officers that are employed as consultants.
Currently, AUDA has just 67 posts filled against an authorised strength of 240 and is highly short-staffed. Desai told the media that in this budget, Rs 116.82 crore would be spent on building three bridges- the Ghuma railway overbridge, Bhat-Apollo Circle, and the Dholka canal bridge.
He said that AUDA has set aside Rs 100 crore for the widening of a 65 km road, which is the second key priority. Moreover, for strengthening the water supply network in new residential clusters, AUDA would invest Rs 157.88 crore. The administration has also planned new community halls in certain areas and has set aside a budget of Rs 32.51 crore. Desai said besides this, AUDA plans to boost IT services to enhance its citizen interface.
