RMC faces precious revenue loss

Delay in key district committee meeting proves detrimental to local bodies

RAWALPINDI:

Due to a four-month delay in the meeting of the District Planning and Coordination Committee, the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation has lost more than Rs1 billion in revenue for 89 cases in terms of commercialisation, conversion and building plan fees. With this, the income of the district council and the seven municipal committees of the district has also stopped.

The local body is already suffering from a severe financial crisis and local institutions are in a terrible situation as a result of a lack of funding for development work, salaries, and pensions.

A major source of income for the RMC and other local bodies across the district is derived from the commercialisation of plots, conversion and subsequent approval of commercial buildings on the said plots. However, due to the inordinate delay in holding the meeting of the District Planning and Coordination Committee, these institutions are being deprived of precious revenue.

A significant source of income for these local organisations is the approval of commercialisation and conversion cases followed by the approval of building plans at the District Planning and Coordination Committee meeting presided over by the deputy commissioner. But for the previous four months, the said meeting has been postponed where 89 cases are pending for submission of commercialisation and conversion of plots by the RMC.

As a result of these approvals, the RMC will generate more than Rs1 billion in revenue and then after the commercialisation and conversion, the construction of large commercial centres on these plots will provide a major source of employment to skilled labour in addition to the purchase of building materials.

Notably, many commercialisation and conversion cases are still pending as a result of the delay in the conduct of the meeting and those approaching local bodies for commercialisation and conversion of their plots are moving from pillar to post.

The citizens complain that it is getting harder for them to purchase building materials as a result of the daily increase in costs owing to inflation. “If the commercialisation and conversion cases are accepted in a timely manner, the approval process for commercial building plans and subsequent construction work can be started,” they said.

It is to be noted that although District Planning and Coordination Committee Chairman Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Hasan Waqar Cheema, had claimed in September that the meetings of the District Planning and Coordination Committee would take place shortly, even after the passing of the first week of October, the meetings could not be held.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2023.