Rawalpindi admin in dire financial straits

All affairs come to a standstill as departments face funds shortage

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi district administration is facing severe financial problems owing to the non-restoration of funds.

Work on major development projects has also come to a standstill as funds for the Rawalpindi district could not be restored by the current provincial setup.

The affairs of all the allied departments of the district administration have also come to a standstill due to the non-availability of funds.

All administrative affairs have come to a standstill due to the continued ban on development funds.

A senior officer of the district administration, on condition of anonymity, said that since January, all funds for the Rawalpindi district have been frozen. He said that it has become difficult for the district administration to run the day-to-day affairs due to the non-release of funds by the caretaker setup.

He claimed that officers were spending money from their own pockets to meet petrol and other expenses.

The senior officer said that at present all approved tenders for public welfare projects in Rawalpindi including the repair of the metro bus track, repair of government offices and residential quarters, and repair of vehicles and other machinery have been canceled mainly due to non-availability of funds. The district administration has informed the provincial government about the situation arising from the shortage of funds but no response has been received, he said.

According to the sources, some departments were facing a shortage of funds to pay the salaries of daily wages employees.

The senior officer said that the district administration attempted to get funds from the local government of Lahore to run the day-to-day affairs, but it proved unsuccessful.

With the further withholding of funds, the crisis in administrative affairs may intensify, he said.

The officer said that every effort was being made to restore the funds at the earliest so that the district administration could function smoothly.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2023.