CPIM Call to Avoid HAM Funds for Kakinada
The CPIM leader said the HAM policy is akin to a Public Private Partnership model , implying that the ultimate burden would fall on the people in one way or another.
Kakinada:The Communist Party of India (Marxist) here has opposed the plan to bring HAM (Hybrid Annuity Model) funds to develop Kakinada city.
The party’s city convener P Veerababu noted that Kakinada MLA Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao has announced the plan to bring Rs 93 crore for the city’s development, but he should not get the funds under HAM mode. “KMC is grappling with a shortage of funds and the CLAP vehicles, responsible for the daily collection of wet and dry waste, have been grounded due to the civic body’s inability to make timely payments and a need for repairs,” he said.
HAM funds, he said, can mount the corporation’s debt to higher levels. Under the model, the contractor can obtain bank loans for 60 per cent of the estimated project cost, with KMC acting as the guarantor, and the Corporation is also required to bear the burden of interest payments.
Under the terms, a special account should be opened for the contract, and the corporation obligated to deposit a portion of its revenues such as property tax collections, into this account to cover the bills payable to the contractor, he said.
The CPIM leader said the HAM policy is akin to a Public Private Partnership model , implying that the ultimate burden would fall on the people in one way or another.
He said the municipal corporation has lost the 16th finance commission funds due to KMC’s failure to hold municipal elections over the past four years. He requested the state government to directly allocate the funds to the corporation for the city’s development.