RMC approves surplus budget

Implementation of Rs4.36 billion budget to be ensured in next three months

ISLAMABAD:

The Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC) has approved a surplus budget with a total worth of Rs4.36 billion for five months, with no new taxes being imposed in the budget.

Suggestions for schemes under the Rs3.20 billion development budget have also been sought from members of the national and provincial assemblies belonging to the 70 Union Councils of the RMC.

Implementation of the development budget will be ensured in the next three months.

Due to the absence of local body representatives in the RMC, the budget was forwarded by the administrator and deputy commissioner Rawalpindi to the Punjab Local Government after approval.

A meeting chaired by RMC Administrator and Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Tahir Farooq formally approved the budget.

The total sum of the Rs4.36 billion budget is based on two parts, with Rs1.16 billion estimated to be earned in revenues from January 28 to June 30, 2022 and Rs3.20 billion left over from the balance of the previous budget. Rs870 million from the total budget will be allocated for non-development expenditures.

An amount of Rs200 million from the non-development expenditure budget will be used for a bailout package to ensure regular payment of employees' pensions without any hindrance.

Collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to spend 25% of the development budget on community-based development for the citizens is also on the cards.

Under the partnership, 60% of the amount to be spent on the said development scheme will be paid by the RMC, while 40% will be taken care of by the NGO.

On the other hand, the budget allocated for development schemes has been termed the ‘Annual Development Programme (ADP)’.

Read: 36 UCs formally merged into RMC

The RMC, which consists of 70 Union Councils, has asked the National and Provincial Assemblies members to send recommended development proposals to the Corporation so that the development schemes can be completed within three months.

It is pertinent to note that the RMC, consisting of public representatives who completed their term on December 31, 2021, had approved a surplus budget worth Rs4.1 billion on December 3, 2021 for the term of October 17, 2021 till June 30, 2022 for 46 union councils.

Of the said budget, Rs2.28 billion was earmarked for development schemes. However, the Punjab local government had allowed the local bodies to spend only eight per cent or Rs440 million from the budget for development schemes.

Even the reduced sum of Rs440 million could not be utilised for the purpose of development, as no tenders were floated before the completion and eventual dissolution of the local bodies when their term was up.

Commenting on the situation, former mayor Sardar Naseem Khan claimed that the incumbent government has not allowed the public representatives of the RMC to work since 2018, allegedly due to their affiliation with rival political party PML-N.

“It is clear that the city was punished for giving votes to PML-N in the local body elections,” he said.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2022.