HMC passes Rs3b budget

Outgoing mayor complains about Sindh govt’s neglect of Hyd, 'handicapped' performance

HYDERABAD:

Led by the outgoing elected representatives of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) passed a Rs3.024 billion budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year with a majority vote on Monday. 2020-21 with a majority vote.

During the proceedings, outgoing mayor Syed Tayyab Hussain, whose speech highlighted discrimination in funding from the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government over the last four years, pinned his hopes for meeting the budget on the Octroi Zilla Tax (OZT).

The OZT share, which is released by the provincial government, amounted to two-thirds of the budget with Rs2.04 billion out of the total. The corporation would receive another amount of Rs360 million as a special grant from the government.

"Under Article 140 of the Constitution, the Sindh government kept administrative, financial and political authority away from the HMC," said the mayor in his budget speech, bewailing that much of HMC's share of OZT in the last fiscal year had been withheld. "The provincial government has neglected Hyderabad for the last four years."

Acknowledging that he had vowed to keep the city clean after assuming charge, he lamented that financial constraints handicapped his performance. "I admit that we didn't fulfill the expectation which the people of Hyderabad had kept from us," he said.

However, Hussain claimed that his administration had brought the financial irregularities that existed prior to his tenure under control. He further took credit for clearing all outstanding gratuity dues for retired staff.

He added that Rs1 billion announced by the federal government for Hyderabad's development projects had been released to the Sindh governor, but the corporation had still not received those funds.

The mayor further claimed that despite "hindrances" from the provincial government, the HMC distributed development funds of Rs1.5 million to each of the 96 union committees.

"The responsibility of drainage in City and Latifabad lies with Water and Sanitation Agency, which completely failed to perform," he deplored. "The HMC kept struggling with financial woes to meet the citizens' needs for basic facilities, but the provincial government remained non-serious."

Moreover, Hussain blamed Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah for failing to honour his assurances about providing rain emergency funds and the disposal of animal offal during Eidul Azha.

The mayor further complained that while the spread of Covid-19 increased HMC's expenditures, its revenue also slumped during the lockdown

The budget

The HMC will generate its own revenue of over Rs320 million from different fees, Rs94.92 million from taxes and Rs4.48 million from rents. The corporation will obtain another Rs93.48 million in arrears.

The HMC will further incur expenditure of Rs1.99 billion for pay, pension and other establishment expenses.

Moreover, a sum of Rs515.96 million has been set aside for development and Rs482.11 million for contingencies. The HMC has also earmarked Rs15 million for disaster management and an equal sum for financially assisting the corporation's councillors and their families. Another Rs39 million have been reserved for scholarships, Rs1 million for unforeseen events and Rs500,000 for civil defence.

In the previous fiscal year, the HMC failed to achieve its taxation, rent and fee targets. Against the expected income of Rs368.93 million under fees, the corporation collected only Rs50 million while the tax income also fell short of the target of Rs139.65 million by Rs39.61 million.

The HMC also only collected Rs18.85 million rent against its target of over Rs25 million, while failing to receive Rs1.6 billion under OZT, according to its estimated income, after the Sindh government released only Rs1.12 billion from the tax.

The local government body spent Rs1.94 billion in the previous budget, which was passed with an outlay of Rs2.92 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2020.