Amid reservations: Opposition protests while district govt passes budget

Peshawar DC said budget mentioned in proposals curtailed to great extent

PESHAWAR: The city district administration passed the budget on Friday, but without opposition members in the council hall as they were gathered outside, to protest against the increase in discretionary funds of the nazim and naib nazim.

Before the session commenced, opposition members locked the gate of the district council hall, saying the budget was prepared against the law.  However, the district government passed the budget for the fiscal year 2016-17 with a total outlay of Rs10.66 billion. Outside the district council hall opposition member Razaullah Chagharmati of Pakistan Peoples Party said the budget was not signed by the deputy commissioner of Peshawar.

He criticised city district nazim Muhammad Asim Khan for allocating a major chunk of the development funds as discretionary funds for the nazim and naib nazim. “The budget is unconstitutional and the opposition will take the issue to the court for its stay.”

In the hall

The convener announced voting for the budget so that it could be approved through a show of hands. A total of 87 members voted in favour of the budget, after which the convener announced approval for the budget in the hall.

Addressing the session, Khalid Waqas Chamkani from Jamaat-e-Islami, that is in coalition with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in the district assembly, said the budget was people friendly but the allocations should not only be confined to the documents, but should be implemented practically as well.

He added all members of the district hall should strive to stop corrupt practices so that the funds are utilised in a proper manner to benefit the public. In his concluding remarks, he congratulated the entire assembly over the approval of the budget.

After adjournment of the budget session, Asim spoke to journalists. He said protest was the right of the opposition. But, he added, as far as discretionary funds of the nazim were concerned, it was their constitutional right that was not against the rules.

Facing the axe

Meanwhile, Peshawar DC Riaz Khan Mehsud issued a letter to the local government secretary, expressing concerns over the preparation of the budget. A copy of the letter is available with The Express Tribune.

The letter stated the budget in the proposals of the most of devolved departments, including DC office, has been curtailed to a great extent. It further read grant of the district council and district local fund has been presented in the district assembly session without taking the DC in the loop, which is mandatory as per the rules of business.

Furthermore, the letter read budget of the health and education departments under the head of petty repairs and medicines has also been reduced despite the fact that the budget proposals were returned to the relevant departments with certain observations to be reviewed.

Through the letter, the DC requested the local government secretary to issue necessary instructions to the district nazim so that functions are carried out within the framework of the budgetary rules of 2016.

“The presentation of the budget proposals without the consent of the DC, who is also the principal accounting officer, will not only lead to a lot of ambiguities but also result in technical irregularities and problems in the future.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2016.