After vacillating on the issue for some time, the MC Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) today finally put its stamp of approval on the proposal to mortgage the MC properties lying in various parts of the city in order to raise loan worth Rs 200 crores from Housing Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO).

The amount thus raised will help the corporation in contributing its 30% share to the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) projects cleared for Ludhiana. So far, JNNURM has cleared a Rs 240-crore sewer project, of which Rs 100 crore has to be contributed by MC as its share while another 20% is to be given by the state government.

Rs 48 crore project for water supply and sanitation is yet another plan, which was cleared a few days ago only, but both the projects cannot take off unless MC and the state government chip in with their 30% and 20% of the project cost, respectively. The MC’s inability to contribute bear its share for JNNURM projects, for which the Centre is giving a major grant, speaks volumes about the poor financial health the MC is in.

This decision was taken today in the Finance and Contract Committee meeting of MC. Earlier, the loan proposed was Rs 100 crore to which the councillors had raised objections, following which the loan proposal was hiked to Rs 200 crores.

MC plans to repay the loan 15-year time period by generating income from its own resources.

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