Pakistan

Budget 2017-18: Rs217.17m for new IHC buildings

Government has earmarked funds for three projects under the new scheme

Our Correspondent May 28, 2017

Islamabad High Court. PHOTO: Express

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has set aside Rs217.172 million for constructing new buildings associated with the Islamabad High Court in the capital for the fiscal year 2017-18.

In the budget, the government has allocated Rs500 million for the construction of the Islamabad High Court. The project had been cleared by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) in September 2014 and it was expected to cost around Rs2.852 billion.

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Till the end of the ongoing fiscal year, as much as Rs1.638 billion are expected to have been spent on the project. However, with an allocation of Rs500 million, it seems that the project would have to be carried on into the subsequent fiscal year of 2018-19.

New schemes

Under the new schemes proposed for the higher judiciary in Islamabad, the government has earmarked funds for three projects.

The first of these projects are residences for the judges, registrars, officers and officials of the IHC. The project is estimated to cost around Rs272.83 million to complete. The government, however, has set aside the first tranche of Rs34.451 million for the project in the fiscal year 2017-18. The project though has yet to be approved by the CDWP.

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Moreover, the government plans to build sessions division East of the IHC. The project is slated to cost around Rs800 million. But for the upcoming financial year, the government has only set aside Rs100 million for the construction of the project.

The third project is the construction of a rest house for judges of the IHC. The government has allocated Rs82.721 million to purchase land for the rest house.

Recurring costs

As part of the non-development funds set aside for the IHC, to pay salaries and bills of the court, the government has set aside Rs486 million for the court in the fiscal year 2017-18.

This is up from the Rs469.635 million, which had been presented as a revised estimate in the outgoing fiscal year.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2017.