Admin bldg, animal shelter, corridor part of KMC budget

Kolhapur: Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) standing committee chairman Vishal Shirale presented the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation Budget 2026-27 at the Rajarshi Shahu Hall of the KMC Administrative Building. on Monday. The budget of the Kolhapur Transport Committee and the Primary Education Department was also presented under mayor Rouparani Nikam's chairmanship. A consolidated budget of around Rs1,516 crore was presented for the financial year.Addressing the meeting, Shirale said, "A new administrative building worth Rs103 crore is proposed at Shenda Park in 5 acres of premises with funds of Rs103 crore. The govt has approved a fund of over Rs50 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana for the construction of a fish market building at Rajopadhyaya Nagar. It has also been planned to build a well-equipped animal shelter near the city."Shirale further added that an ‘elevated corridor' project would be undertaken to save travel time and make intra-city communication easier. The corridor would start from Tawde Hotel to Shivaji Bridge via Kavla Naka, Dasara Chowk, and CPR Chowk. At the same time, solid waste collection and sorting centres will be constructed at four different locations in the city and Rs11.11 crore of funds has been approved for this. Corporators, also called out the administration for spending lakhs of rupees every month on its suspended employees. BJP corporator Jayant Patil alleged that a KMC official, who was suspended in the electricity department scam case, was drawing a salary without working for 25 years. "Chandrakant Kemble was suspended in 2002 in an electricity department scam case. He has not been working for the last 25 years but still takes a salary of Rs 1.68 lakh. Why does the KMC feed them for free?" questioned Patil.