Safe city authority roiled by funding crunch
PSCA, finance dept pass buck to each other for the state of affairs
PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
The rift between Punjab Safe City Authority and the Finance Department has deepened over the provision of funds despite the intervention by the Punjab Chief Minister Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to resolve the issue through the home department.
The Finance Department had put forth a condition that the Punjab Home Department must put forward a summary submitted by the Safe City Authority for the release of funds. However, the Safe City Authority has failed to submit it despite clear orders from the government authorities.
The finance department has offered quarterly payments of Rs644 million every three months for the safe city project; however no response has been received from the Home Department regarding the offer. Sources said that the Finance Department has not issued a supplementary budget. It has in fact released funds for the safe city authority through the home department’s block allocation.
Currently, the Home Department has Rs4 billion funds in block allocation. If any scheme comes up after the budget announcement, these funds can be used for the completion of that scheme.
As per the sources in Punjab Finance Department, Safe City Authority was sent a letter to inquire about their annual budget demand to include it in the annual provincial budget however the department received no response from the authority.
Therefore the authority was not given any funds causing the shutdown of over 4,000 cameras and nonpayment of salary of its employees.
The authority claims that they had sought funds from the finance department. Contrastingly, the Finance Department refuted the claim saying that as per their record no funds were demanded by the Safe City Authority which is why a supplementary grant was not issued to them.
After being informed about the matter, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar had decided to take up the matter to the cabinet committee. While, another committee led by Dr Suleiman Shah decided that once the grant is issued to the Safe City Authority, the project will not only monitor the city but also play its role in the Smart City Project.
Later on in a meeting, the Punjab Finance Department and a cabinet committee agreed that the Safe City Authority is independent and does not fall under the ambit of the police or home department. Thereby a letter would be written to the home department after which it would provide the authority with Rs1.4 billion in three quarterly installments. No letter was written by the authority even after a week passed after the decision.
Reportedly, government officials state that the Safe City Authority officials are demanding funds independently instead of sending a summary to the home department. The Finance Department alleges that the authority is guilty of the wrong doing causing the delay in the release of funds for the project. The Finance Department has showed concerns that the project will suffer further if the authority insists on receiving independent funds.
The city administration should find a solution to end this tussle to ensure reactivation of cameras under the project to ensure a ‘safe city’.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2020.
The rift between Punjab Safe City Authority and the Finance Department has deepened over the provision of funds despite the intervention by the Punjab Chief Minister Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to resolve the issue through the home department.
The Finance Department had put forth a condition that the Punjab Home Department must put forward a summary submitted by the Safe City Authority for the release of funds. However, the Safe City Authority has failed to submit it despite clear orders from the government authorities.
The finance department has offered quarterly payments of Rs644 million every three months for the safe city project; however no response has been received from the Home Department regarding the offer. Sources said that the Finance Department has not issued a supplementary budget. It has in fact released funds for the safe city authority through the home department’s block allocation.
Currently, the Home Department has Rs4 billion funds in block allocation. If any scheme comes up after the budget announcement, these funds can be used for the completion of that scheme.
As per the sources in Punjab Finance Department, Safe City Authority was sent a letter to inquire about their annual budget demand to include it in the annual provincial budget however the department received no response from the authority.
Therefore the authority was not given any funds causing the shutdown of over 4,000 cameras and nonpayment of salary of its employees.
The authority claims that they had sought funds from the finance department. Contrastingly, the Finance Department refuted the claim saying that as per their record no funds were demanded by the Safe City Authority which is why a supplementary grant was not issued to them.
After being informed about the matter, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar had decided to take up the matter to the cabinet committee. While, another committee led by Dr Suleiman Shah decided that once the grant is issued to the Safe City Authority, the project will not only monitor the city but also play its role in the Smart City Project.
Later on in a meeting, the Punjab Finance Department and a cabinet committee agreed that the Safe City Authority is independent and does not fall under the ambit of the police or home department. Thereby a letter would be written to the home department after which it would provide the authority with Rs1.4 billion in three quarterly installments. No letter was written by the authority even after a week passed after the decision.
Reportedly, government officials state that the Safe City Authority officials are demanding funds independently instead of sending a summary to the home department. The Finance Department alleges that the authority is guilty of the wrong doing causing the delay in the release of funds for the project. The Finance Department has showed concerns that the project will suffer further if the authority insists on receiving independent funds.
The city administration should find a solution to end this tussle to ensure reactivation of cameras under the project to ensure a ‘safe city’.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2020.