Rawalpindi: Rawal Town Council approves Rs 710m budget for 2009-10

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Nazim says Punjab govt banned development schemes, turning city into ruins
* Development expenditure estimated at Rs 456 million, non-development funds at Rs 254 million
* Federal govt urged to complete Mother and Child Hospital project
* City District Government under fire for not completing slaughterhouse project

By Aamir Yasin

RAWALPINDI: Rawal Town Council (RTC) on Monday approved Rs 710.761 million Rawal Town budget for fiscal year 2009-10 amid uproar and pandemonium.

Rawal Town Naib Nazim Chaudhry Farooq Azam presided over the budget session in Jinnah Hall, Town Municipal Administration Complex. Rawal Town Nazim Sheikh Rashid Shafique presented the budget, which was approved by the RTC.

Shafique informed the house that development expenditure had been estimated at Rs 456.195 million and non-development expenditure at Rs 254.566 million.

“For the first time, no development scheme or project is included in the budget,” he informed the house.

Punjab govt turned Pindi into ruins: The nazim said the Punjab government had banned new development schemes in the city because of which it now looked like ruins. He said in the two years after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Rawal Town Municipal Administration (RTMA) had recently got approval from court to start the development schemes, envisaged in budget 2008-09.

He said the RTMA had allocated Rs 170 million for development schemes, which must start even without approval from the Punjab government since the city had generated resources for them on its own. He said development schemes to the tune of Rs 2 million each in all 46 union councils of the city would be supervised by naib nazims.

Parks, streetlights and CCB schemes: He said the RTMA had allocated Rs 20 million for improvement of parks, Rs 1 million for streetlights and Rs 130.135 million for CCB schemes, adding that this amount had remained unspent for the last three years.

Slaughterhouse: He said slaughterhouse project had not yet been completed despite the fact that RTMA had paid Rs 50 million to the City District Government for its construction in addition to Rs 2.4 million paid to Pakistan Railways as two-year rent of the land reserved for the slaughter house.

Mother and Child Hospital: He requested the federal government to complete Mother and Child Hospital project, which was started three years ago. He said the RTMA had no objection if the Rose Cinema was given into enhancement of DHQ Hospital.

Transfer of resources: He said after transfer of major revenue resources to the City District Government and an increase in salaries and pensions of government employees, it had become very difficult for the town administration to present a surplus budget next year.

He said Rawalpindi Environmental Improvement Project (REIP) had dug all main roads of the city without getting NoC from the RTMA.

Four-year performance: Shafique said the RTMA had completed development projects to the tune of Rs 810.92 million over last four years. He said RTMA members had launched 308 development projects, installed 70 water filtration plants, 28 tube wells and laid new roads at a cost of Rs 436 million.

He said Government Girls College Dhoke Hassu; Sheikh Fazal Elahi Girls High School Hazara Colony; Government Girls High School, Ziaul Haq Colony and Government Girls High School, Aryia Mohallah had also been built during the same period.

He said all house members would oppose the provincial government for giving procession of old TMA offices at Fawara Chowk and General Bus Stand, Pirwadhai, to City District Government and that of parks to Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA).

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg11_1