Rawalpindi: No allocation for new development schemes

[LRE]

No allocation for new development schemes: District Assembly passes Rs 5.626bn budget

* Pandemonium mars session g Opposition does not allow nazim to present budget
* Budget approved after getting signatures of members on document

By Terence J Sigamony

RAWALPINDI: The City District Assembly on Wednesday passed annual budget for fiscal year 2008-09 amid pandemonium and hullabaloo.

The treasury approved the budget, which could not be presented in the assembly due to disturbance by opposition, by getting signatures of the members on the budget document. Around 212 members of 237 present in the assembly signed the document. The total strength of the assembly is 250 councillors.

Total volume of the budget is Rs 5626.481 million including Rs1181.845 million from the opening balance, Rs 3729.636 million from the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) Award, Rs 515 million from reimbursement of Chief Minister Package for education employees and 15 per cent increase in pay and Rs 200 million receipts from own resources.

The total expenditures stand at Rs 5623.870 million. An amount of Rs 4241.794 million has been earmarked for the current expenditures, Rs 973.593 million for the development expenditures and Rs 408.483 million for the public funds.

No funds have been allocated for the new development scheme in the budget. Rs 217.042 million have been allocated for 49 ongoing schemes. The budget document says proposed allocation is subject to availability of funds under PFC Award for 2008-09.

The nazim’s budget speech stated that under PFC Award for 2008-09 the Punjab government had initially allocated Rs 4026.228 million but it provided Rs 3729.636 million only. The nazim said the government had also not provided funds for increase in pay to the employees. He said last year the government had cut Rs 412 million under the PFC Award, which affected development and non-development works. He demanded that the government provide all these funds as well.

According to budget speech document, the nazim informed the members that Rs 200 million would be cut from the local government office funds to utilise it in development budget.

Earlier, when District Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas tried to present the budget before the House, the opposition members belonging to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stood-up and reached the rostrum to stop him from presenting the budget. They also tore the copies of the budget document and threw the papers at the nazim. The PML-Q councillors surrounded the nazim and protected him from opposition members.

District Assembly Convener Afzal Khokkar on this occasion urged the member to calm down and listen to the nazim, but they kept on shouting slogans against the nazim.

A lady councillor from the opposition also tore shirt of a member Raja Irfan Ahmed from Union Council Mora Noori.

The pandemonium continued for almost two hours. The treasury members after getting signatures from the members in favour of the budget announced that budget has been approved. While the opposition members said they did not accept the budget. They said the budget document did not contain any new development scheme.

They said during the last three years nazim deceived the members by saying the development schemes would be allotted equally to all members irrespective of the political affiliation.

They also said during the last session the nazim had promised to provide budget document one week before its presentation in the assembly.

WASA, RDA budgets okayed: The City District Assembly on Wednesday approved Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) budgets for 2008-09.

According to the documents, the RDA budget’s total volume is Rs 1622.03 million – Rs 116.51 for open balance and Rs 1505.52 million for receipts. The authority’s total expenditure has been projected at Rs1613.304 million for fiscal 2008-09. The WASA budget’s total outlay is Rs 727.07 million - Rs350.825 million for opening balance and Rs 376.24 million for receipts. The total expenditure estimated for the fiscal is Rs 447.7 million.

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