Key Takeaways:
- The Visakhapatnam Zilla Parishad approved the Visakhapatnam ZP budget 2025-26 and estimates for 2026-27 during a unanimous general body meeting.
- Members honoured Blind Women’s T20 World Cup participant Pangi Karuna Kumari with cricket kits worth ₹39,900.
- Councillors raised grievances including the registration of the PD Act against a CPI-M leader, irregular pension awards and severe pollution from overloaded lorries in Paravada mandal.
- Officials were urged to investigate pension irregularities and regulate industrial effluents and overloading to protect public health and road safety.
The Visakhapatnam Zilla Parishad (ZP) general body unanimously approved the budget for the 2025-26 financial year and adopted budget estimates for 2026-27 at a meeting held at the ZP Meeting Hall in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. Chaired by Jallipalli Subhadra and led administratively by CEO P. Narayana Murthy, the session brought together district collectors, ZPTCs and MPTCs to finalise financial plans and discuss pressing local issues.
Visakhapatnam ZP budget 2025-26 secured unanimous approval
Authorities said the unanimous endorsement of the Visakhapatnam ZP budget 2025-26 signals consensus among elected members over resource allocation for ongoing and upcoming development programmes. The meeting was attended by District Collectors M.N. Harendhira Prasad (Visakhapatnam), Vijaya Krishnan (Anakapalli) and Dinesh Kumar (ASR district), along with ZP deputy CEO K. Raj Kumar and a full complement of ZPTCs and MPTCs.
Before the formal proceedings, councillors paid tribute to Pangi Karuna Kumari for her participation in the Blind Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup. In recognition of her achievement, the Zilla Parishad presented cricket kits valued at ₹39,900.
While the budget vote closed the primary agenda, several members used the floor to raise constituency concerns. Anantagiri ZPTC Dasari Ganga Raju and Nakkapalli ZPTC Gosala Kushalamma criticised the registration of a Preventive Detention (PD) Act case against CPI-M leader M. Appalaraju, who had supported fishermen opposing the proposed bulk drug park at Nakkapalli. They described the use of the PD Act in this context as inappropriate and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the case.
Councillors also drew attention to alleged irregularities in the disbursement of pensions for physically challenged persons. Members claimed eligible beneficiaries were being denied support while ineligible recipients received payments. They called for an impartial identification exercise to root out wrongful awards regardless of party affiliation and asked officials to correct the list promptly.
Environmental and road safety concerns dominated the latter part of the meeting. Paravada ZPTC Bora Sanyasi Raju warned of worsening pollution and routine overloading of lorries in Paravada mandal, which he said had led to water and air contamination and rising respiratory illnesses among residents. He said the issue is serious enough to have reached parliamentary debate and urged authorities to impose a fixed schedule for industrial effluent releases to minimise public health impact.
Raju also alleged that approximately 200 lorries bound for NTPC and Hinduja facilities were routinely overloaded, causing damage to main roads and increasing the risk of accidents. He accused proxies of elected representatives of operating the overloaded trucks and criticised transport officials for failing to act. Councillors requested immediate enforcement measures and greater coordination between transport and local bodies to curb the practice.
Officials at the meeting acknowledged the matters raised and pledged follow up actions. The unanimous passage of the budget provides a financial framework for addressing infrastructure needs and social welfare schemes, while the concerns voiced by ZPTCs have set a clear agenda for administrative scrutiny and remedial steps in the weeks ahead.
