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The opposition parties and tax payers lament that the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) received a mere Rs. 7.24 crore under non-plan grants from 2005-06 to 2009-10. But the sordid fact is that the Corporation has not laid any emphasis on taxes as well, if the collections were any indication.

Barring Vacant Land Tax (VLT) collection, there is a drop in revenue collections under all major heads like property tax, water tap and sewerage. The fall in revenue collection is not limited to any one circle.

All the three circles in the city fared in similar fashion. The property tax collection during the first half of this financial year (April 1 to September 30) dwindled to Rs. 20.72 crore from Rs. 21.91 crore recorded for the corresponding period of last year. The water tap collections slipped to Rs.31.87 crore from Rs.33.05 crore and the sewerage charges too dropped to Rs. 8.2 lakh from last year's Rs. 8.7 lakh, officials say.

A glance at the performance of the VMC in the first half of the financial year from 2005-06 to 2010-11 indicates that the revenue wing of the Corporation has always fallen short of set targets. Neither was it placing emphasis on ?under-assessed' and ?un-assessed' properties. For instance, property tax collections rose to Rs. 12.65 crore in 2006-07 from Rs. 8.83 crore in 2005-06.

Then Municipal Commissioner Natarajan Gulzar succeeded in revising the ?under-assessed' and ?un-assessed' properties.

When property tax rates were revised in 2006-07, collections jumped to Rs. 18.73 crore. Since then the emphasis on PT collections continued, and the collections reached Rs. 21.79 crore in 2009-10.

A similar emphasis was laid on other heads like vacant land tax, water tap and sewerage charges.

Official sources said that the higher-ups have not reviewed the performance of revenue wing on a regular basis so far.

The demand and collections were earlier reviewed at least every fortnight. The Corporation used to rely on revenue receipts before the State government introduced the Building Penalisation Scheme (BPS).

In the recent past, BPS collections assumed significance as thousands of applications were filed under the scheme.

There is an increase in the VLT collections, sources say, as the Corporation collected the arrears and some new assessments have been added to the list.

The VLT collection came down to Rs. 1.58 crore in 2009-10 from Rs. 2.61 crore in 2007-08. Now, it again touched Rs. 2.15 crore.

City shooters G. Vijaya Parthasaradhy and G. Chaitanya, the brother-sister duo, have added a new dimension to their training module. Henceforth, they will be practising with the help of a simulator, an electronic gadget that enables them to analyse their shot, the mistakes they commit and the ways and means to improve their performance.

The motto

Vijay, 21, and Chaitanya, 24, who take part in the 10-metre peep-sight air rifle event, have shifted their base to Hyderabad to practise in the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh's shooting range at University of Hyderabad with the singular motto of making it big in the sport.

“The simulator is called SCATT and has been created for the Russians to fulfil their coaching requirements. The aiming trajectory displayed on the screen of the computer or a laptop provides complete information about the accuracy of aim and errors made before and during shooting,” says Vijay, who took part in four senior nationals and in the Guwahati National Games representing Andhra Pradesh.

An electronic optical sensor is fixed to the barrel of the weapon. “On activating the weapon trigger, the point of impact is displayed on the laptop. The performance of the shooters can be recorded for analysis,” he explains.

Thanks to the Andhra Cricket Association's policy of encouraging other sports by contributing funds, the shooting duo could get the advanced gadget worth Rs. 2 lakhs. “The new advanced German gun Feinwerkbau P-700 worth Rs. 2 lakhs was also donated by ACA secretary G. Ganga Raju,” Vijay says with gratitude.

No coaching support

But the going is not all that smooth for the brother and sister, as they are learning the nuances of shooting all by themselves with the AP Shooting Association offering no coaching support.

“The association allows us to participate in competitions but we have to take care of the training aspect. Top shooters abroad practise along with professional coaches and it involves huge money,” he points out.

Another problem the duo faces is dearth of pellets for regular practice. “Many a time we run short of pellets. A box of 500 pellets costs Rs. 800 and while practising for a major event we end up emptying 30 boxes in a month,” the young shooter says.

Notwithstanding the lukewarm show by Indian shooters in the ongoing Guangzhou Asian Games, Vijay expresses confidence that more and more corporate outfits would come forward to sponsor talented young shooters in the country.

EXEMPTIONS

The coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh, already battered by heavy rains that have claimed 26 lives so far, is now threatened by a cyclonic storm, officials said on Thursday.

Fearing further damage and loss of lives and property during the cyclone, the army, air force and navy, besides the Disaster Management Response Force have been kept on standby.

Under the influence of a depression over the Bay of Bengal that is threatening to unleash a cyclonic storm, rains and thundershowers would happen at most places, from Saturday morning, weather office said.

Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfalls were also expected over north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coasts, it added.

Wind speeds could touch 65 kmph, and commence along and off north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast, the weather office said in a statement.

Sea conditions will be rough to very rough, and fishermen have been advised against venturing into the sea.

“The depression over southeast Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclone and move west-northwestwards towards north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast during next 72 hours,” the Indian Meteorological Department statement said.

“Latest satellite imagery indicates that a depression has formed over southeast Bay of Bengal and lay centred at 0530 hrs IST of 4th November, 1150 km east of Batticaloa, 1400 km east-southeast of Chennai and 1450 km southeast of Visakhapatanam,” the statement explained.

Heavy rains, caused by low pressure over Bay of Bengal and vigorous northeast monsoon, have caused widespread devastation in six districts of coastal Andhra.

Officials said the rains have claimed 26 lives in four days, though the downpour has stopped now. Nearly 600,000 people in 1,000 villages and two towns have been affected and standing crops over seven lakh acres were damaged, dashing the farmers’ hopes of a bumper crop this season.

About 50,000 people were shifted to 110 relief camps in the affected districts. More than 126,000 houses were submerged.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah is scheduled to conduct an aerial survey of the affected areas in East Godavari and Krishna districts on Thursday.