Lucknow: Mayor Sushma Kharkwal on Wednesday placed five demands before the sixth State Finance Commission, seeking a larger financial allocation for Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) to meet rising infrastructure and service needs after the city’s expansion.Addressing Uttar Pradesh Mayors’ Forum meeting, Kharkwal sought a doubling of the corporation’s financial share. She demanded Rs 2,184 crore for development works and streetlighting, and Rs 5,825.85 crore for drinking water and sewerage projects. She also asked for the full 2% stamp duty allocation to urban local bodies and compensation for revenue losses linked to tax exemptions.Kharkwal said the municipal area had expanded from 310 sq km to 568 sq km, increasing requirements for roads, drainage systems, streetlights and other essential civic facilities. She said the corporation needed Rs 7,603 crore to develop newly added areas and to restore infrastructure damaged by floods along Gomti river.She urged the commission to factor in geographical area, infrastructure gaps and civic responsibilities while distributing funds. Kharkwal sought special financial assistance for Lucknow, citing added expenditure on sanitation, traffic management, VIP movement and state-level events due to its status as the state capital.Finance and Parliamentary Affairs minister Suresh Khanna and commission chairperson Deepak Kumar attended the meeting.
