Budget 2017-18: IMC approves Rs33.88b opaque budget

No new development schemes listed new garbage collection tax proposed

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) on Tuesday passed a Rs33.88 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year without citing a single development scheme.

Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz chaired IMC’s special budget session at the Pak-China Friendship Centre on Tuesday.

The budget of IMC would be submitted to the federal government for final approval.

Development

In the budget, the IMC has proposed a lump sum amount of Rs25 billion for development works which would be executed under the local government. However, all progress is subject to the approval of grants from the federal government.

Moreover, the IMC has allocated a lump sum amount of Rs500 million for each union council.

Under development expenditures, Rs11.72 million have been earmarked for repairing and maintaining vehicles, machinery and other office equipment.

A further Rs2.14 million has been set aside for purchasing office equipment and furniture. Interestingly IMC members did not spare single penny for emergent works when last year it had set allocated a billion rupees for this purpose.

Non-development expenditures

The IMC has also set aside Rs8.879 billion for non-development expenditures which would be largely utilised to pay for salaries of employees, administrators and other general expenditures such as repairs and maintenance, purchasing equipment, apart from emerging work.

In the outgoing fiscal year 2016-17, the local government had sought Rs10 billion from the government for non-development expenditures. However, it has barely received Rs2.5 billion.

The house approved Rs902.490 million for salaries and allowances of gazetted employees while Rs3.229 billion would be used to pay the salaries and allowances of non-gazetted employees.

An amount of Rs1.69 billion has been spared for other salaries and wages including pensions and contracts in addition to Rs3.65 billion to pay for administration and general expenses including electricity charges, the cost of medicines, advertisement charges, POL, CNG, telephone and other establishment charges.

Inflow

This fiscal year, the IMC expects to receive around Rs9.032 billion including Rs6 billion which have been reserved for the IMC in the budget allocated to the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

Moreover, the IMC hopes to raise around Rs2.84 billion from various fees and taxes while a further Rs200 million is currently available with the IMC.

In the financial year, 2017-18 IMC hopes to receive Rs500 million from the municipal administration as compared to Rs330 million last year. It further hopes to receive RS6.96 million from sanitation down from Rs16.51 million it received in the last fiscal year.

The IMC also plans to generate Rs10.80 million in revenue from supplying water to the capital. A further Rs220 million would be generated as water charges, while Rs1.212 billion would be raised through the bulk water management directorate by supplying water from the Khanpur and Simly Dams.

Further, Rs10.36 million would be generated from the zoo and wildlife management directorate and Rs810 million would be generated from property tax which is collected in the city.

Self-sustaining

Noting the meagre resources at its disposal, the budget document emphasised the need for making each department of the IMC self-sustainable by increasing revenues.

It has also suggested revising taxes for property, water and conservatory charges. In this regard, it proposes introducing a tax for garbage collection and disposal services.

Further, it proposes improving and devising a proper mechanism for reporting for the Municipal Administration Directorate (DMA).

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2017.