Sidelined? IMC clamours over Fazal Chaudhry’s interventions

Resolution passes hailing Mayor Aziz for securing funds in upcoming budget

ISLAMABAD: With the state minister for the capital administration making himself more visible in the aftermath of the mayor being ousted from the hot seat at the civic body, members of the local government council on Tuesday expressed its displeasure.

This led to an exchange of heated words between the treasury and opposition members.

The Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) met at the Pak-China Friendship Centre on Tuesday with Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz in the chair.



During the meeting, Leader of the Opposition in IMC Ali Awan strongly criticised the role of State Minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry.

Awan, who is from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), criticised Chaudhry’s expenditure of funds in different union councils of the capital without taking the respective local government representatives on board.

“The poor condition of health and education in the capital are a question mark on the performance of the CADD minister,” Awan said, as he claimed that Chaudhry had done “nothing in his tenure.”

The opposition leader also pointed to the miserable conditions at the government-run hospitals such as PolyClinic and the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

He added that the education sector was also facing similar problems with a special grant announced by the then first lady of the US Michelle Obama, has yet to be utilised in educational institutions of Islamabad.

Some of the members, from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), from which Chaudhry hails, interrupted the opposition leader and asked him to stop using the floor of the house for political scoring.



 

Budget

Earlier, members from both aisles of the house hailed Aziz’s efforts in securing an allocation Rs14 billion in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) under the upcoming fiscal budget, set to be announced later this week.

This, they said, would be the first time in the two years since the local government started working in the capital, that the federal government would directly provide money to the local government for development work.

Previously, the IMC has had to rely on grants from the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

“This is the first time, since the formation of the IMC, that we will get an allocation of development funds from the federal government,” Awan said jubilantly.

He maintained that while the allocation comes in the last budget of the incumbent federal government, it was welcome all the same.

IMC Chief Metropolitan Officer (CMO) Najaf Iqbal briefed the house about the approval of funds and different development projects earmarked for the federal capital.



 

“The government has acceded to our request and more than Rs13 billion have been approved for the IMC,” CMO announced triumphantly.

Aziz told the house that the funds would be utilised to raise the Islamabad Bus Service (IBS), build sewerage treatment plants in catchment areas of Rawal Lake, purchasing machinery for emergency and disaster management directorate, building a dedicated town hall for the IMC, building union council offices, upgrading the Margharzar Zoo, beautification projects around Islamabad including parks and playgrounds, improvement of sewerage and sanitation system, water supply scheme for rural areas, construction of connecting roads and other uplift of sanitation services and other welfare projects.

Union Council I-9 Chairman Sardar Mehtab Khan presented a resolution for lauding the efforts of the mayor in securing funds for the city. The resolution was unanimously approved by the house.

Aziz and some other member of the IMC then requested members to keep their speeches restricted to the agenda items.

The meeting also deliberated over a proposal for building fair price shops in different sectors of the capital. The municipal administration director also presented a detailed briefing on this issue.

The mayor said that the main objective of these shops was to provide fruits and vegetables to locals at concessional rates.

However, he lamented that some allottees had abused their privilege and failed to conduct business in the approved areas. As a result, some shops were sealed by the IMC. But a few allottees managed to obtain stay orders from different courts. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2018.