Water supply agency outlines Rs187b deficit budget. PHOTO: FILE
RAWALPINDI: Annual budgets for the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) are expected to be presented to the finance sub-committee of RDA on Tuesday for approval.
The RDA has prepared Rs1.3 billion surplus budget, while Wasa has prepared a Rs1.87 billion deficit budget for the fiscal year 2017-2018, the respective agencies said.
RDA budget
The RDA plans to generate Rs620 million from its own resources while it hopes that the Punjab government would provide it Rs680 million as a grant. The authority has set aside Rs225 million for non-development expenditures in its tax-free budget.
Given its financial situation, the authority has decided not to increase existing taxes or fees in areas falling within its limits.
Despite that, the authority plans to generate a handsome amount of money from parking fees, commercialisation fees, transfer fees, building plan fees, apart from income generated from approving housing schemes around the city.
The authority, however, has failed to initiate a housing society in the city which it had long-planned.
As far as new development schemes are concerned, the RDA has planned to spend around Rs10 million for remodelling and extending a double road and junction on IJP Road.
Moreover, Rs23 million have been set aside for carpeting the dual carriages of the Qadeer Khan Road and the road from Islamabad Highway to Falcon complex. Additionally, Rs100 million have been reserved for repairing and extending a road which leads to the dry port in Pindi. Further, Rs100 million will be used to repair a road from Rahimabad to the Welfare Complex, and Rs130 million would be used to remodel Ammar Chowk.
For ongoing development schemes, RDA has set aside Rs200 million for the construction of a link road from Tipu Road to Airport Road, Rs100 million for re-carpeting the road from Noor Khan Base to Rawal Chowk and Rs7 million for a feasibility study to build signal-free crossings on Murree Road near Liaquat Bagh and Marrir.
WASA budget
Wasa, on the other hand, will present its annual budget with a deficit of about Rs1 billion. Despite the massive deficit, the agency has refrained from increasing its water or sanitation charges. The agency has proposed a total budget outlay of Rs1.866 billion even as it estimates to raise Rs940 million. The agency expects to spend a colossal Rs1.1 billion on operations and maintenance works.
Further, Wasa will spend Rs585 million on other non-development expenditures. With monsoon setting in, the agency plans to spend Rs172 million cleaning and dredging Nullah Leh. Moreover, to address the water supply gap, it would spend Rs110 million on a comprehensive project in four newly-included union councils. A further Rs100 million would be spent on new water supply schemes for different parts of the city which fall under Punjab Assembly constituency PP-6.
The funds for these schemes would be provided by the Punjab government. When asked, a senior official of Wasa said that the agency would bridge the budget deficit through special grants provided by the provincial government.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2017.
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