CDA approves outlay for Islamabad.. PHOTO: FILE
This was decided in a budget meeting of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Board. The meeting had been chaired by the authority’s Chairman Usman Akhtar Bajwa at CDA Headquarters on Thursday.
The outlay for the incoming fiscal year is six per cent more than Rs37.9 billion earmarked for the authority last year.
The CDA plans to receive Rs10.576 billion from the government as grants — including from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
The authority hopes to raise Rs23.566 billion from its own sources. This is fractionally higher than the receipts of Rs23.407 billion it had hoped to raise in the outgoing fiscal year.
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Development funds
The CDA has earmarked 54 per cent of the budget, or around Rs21.743 billion, for development in the city.
While this is fractionally higher than in real terms over the Rs21.188 billion the authority had earmarked for development projects in the outgoing fiscal year, as a ratio of the overall budget it is two per cent lower than last year’s 56 per cent allocation.
Terming the budget development-oriented, Bajwa explained that they have focused on land acquisition and prioritising sectors where development work has been pending for many years.
The CDA also allocated Rs3 billion for the acquisition of land and payment of built-up-property (BUP).
A further billion rupees have been allocated for infrastructure development in Sector I-15 while Rs100 million has been set aside to refund Sector I-15flat allottees.
Moreover, Rs500 million has been set aside for the construction of a grade-separation facility at the intersection of Seventh Avenue with Khayaban-e-Suharwardy and Kashmir Highway.
To address the growing issue of garbage disposal in the capital, the CDA unveiled plans to build a landfill site for which Rs100 million has been set aside.
Moreover, the civic authority has earmarked Rs100 million to build a cultural complex in Shakarparian.
The CDA board also approved the allocation of Rs100 million for the construction of Service Road (South) in Blue Area, Sector E-11.
The civic body has also earmarked Rs100 million for the provision of water and sewerage services in Sectors F-8, F-9 and Blue Area.
Similarly, to build major roads leading to the model village in Kuri, the CDA has earmarked Rs100 million.
The civic body has also allocated Rs100 million to build the Burma Bridge on Lehtrar Road during the financial year 2018-19. A further Rs100 million has been allocated for building the Orchard Scheme along Murree Road.
To review the master plan of the capital, the CDA has allocated Rs100 million.
CDA has also affixed Rs50 million to build another block at the Capital Hospital, whereas, the authority has earmarked Rs25 million to protect land acquired in the capital. Further, to fix boundary pillars for demarcation of the CDA and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), the authority has set aside Rs25 million and Rs.10 million respectively.
The authority is also set to receive another Rs7 billion from the PSDP for the Signal-Free Corridor on the Islamabad Expressway which was already outlined in the federal budget outlined last month.
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Non-development expenses
The civic authority has apportioned Rs10.21 billion for non-development expenditures during the fiscal year 2018-19,
Of this, Rs6.398 billion has been allocated for the local government in the capital, the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC).
The money will pay for salaries and allowances of IMC employees and other non-development expenditures on a provisional basis.
However, CDA said that the arrangement is subject to approval from the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division — which means that a decision on its budget could be delayed until a new government is in place later this year.
The apparent deficit in the budget is due to provision kept for the IMC and the gap will be met provisionally from CDA’s revenue sources and eventually will be made good through grants from the federal government.
CDA Board also referred cases of restoration of a plot in Tarlai to CDA law wing and deferred the summary regarding automation of CDA record for further deliberations.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 1st, 2018.
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