CDA approves Rs 33.984bn budget for 2013-14

[Salman]

CDA approves Rs 33.984bn budget for 2013-14

* Budget includes Rs 20.905 billion development expenditure and Rs 13.078 billion non-development expenses

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) Board approved Rs 33.984 billion budget for the financial year 2013-14 in its meeting held on Friday.

The meeting was presided over by CDA Chairman Nadeem Hassan Asif while Finance Member Azher Ali Choudhry presented the budget.

The budget for the financial year 2013-14 is 20 percent higher than the previous budget. According to details, total receipts are estimated at Rs 37.389 billion, which are 244 percent higher than the receipts of the previous financial year. The development expenditure is estimated at Rs 20.905 billion, which is 62 percent of the total budget. The non-development expenses for the fiscal year 2013-14 are estimated to be Rs 13.078 billion, which is 38 percent of the total budget. A total of Rs 3.632 billion grant from the government would include Rs 1.777 billion on account of PSDP and Rs 1.854 billion on account of maintenance grant for the fiscal year 2013-14.

The CDA has set a target of Rs 33.756 billion on account of revenues from its resources for the fiscal year 2013-14, including Rs 5.682 billion from revenue accounts and Rs 27.174 billion in terms of self-finance.

As an austerity drive, a cut of 20 percent has been imposed on non-development expenditure of the office of the CDA chairman and members.

On the directions of the CDA chairman, various revenue generation measures have been adopted, including imposition and implementation of the authority bylaws on housing societies, recovery on account of transfer fee from high-rise and multi-story buildings and to rent-out heavy machinery of the MPO Directorate. Besides, the authority will strictly follow the austerity measures taken by the federal government.

The CDA Board approved right-sizing of human resource, ban on purchase of furniture, rationalisation of the authority vehicles’ use and economy in electricity and fuel consumption.

The authority will save Rs 1.9 billion under the austerity measures taken during the current financial year.

A sum of Rs 1.26 billion in the budget has been reserved to meet the expected increase in pay and allowance, pension and utility charges. A revolving fund for grant of house building and other advances is proposed to be created. A sum of Rs 50 million is proposed as seed money for creating the revolving fund that will be augmented by recovery of advances.

Estimated expenditures on the PSDP schemes is Rs 334.373 million for Kashmir Highway Project, Rs 780 million for construction of additional 104 family suits, Rs 416.908 million for construction of Chirah Dam and Rs 100 million for construction of additional block for Senate and National Assembly Secretariat.

In financial year 2013-14, an amount of Rs 14.646 billion has been allocated out of the CDA sources for on-going works, whereas a sum of Rs 4.480 billion has been allocated for the new developmental projects. Another sum of Rs 7 billion has been allocated by the authority for four priority projects during the financial year 2013-14 including development of Sector I15, C15 and C16, acquisition of land in Sector H16 and compensation of acquired land in Mauza Sheikhpur, Jhangi Syedian, Badhana Kalan, Mauaza Noon and first phase of conversion of street lights to solar energy.