RMC eyes Rs800m in revenue
Eateries and restaurants have occupied a major portion of College Road in Rawalpindi. PHOTO: Imran Asghar/Express
The Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) is optimistic about achieving revenue collection of over Rs800 million, as more than 60 marketing files are awaiting approval.
The civic body’s development plan, originally budgeted at Rs3.5 billion, has experienced delays in approval from the provincial government in the past.
Recent reports indicate that, despite a six-month interval, only three of the sixty commercialisation cases filed by the Municipal Corporation have received approval during a meeting of the District Planning and Design Committee, presided over by Deputy Commissioner Waqar Hasan Cheema.
This shortfall in approvals has resulted in the Municipality falling short of the expected Rs800 million in revenue from commercialisation.
This situation has further complicated matters, as the municipality relies on substantial revenue from approved building plans and commercialisation cases. Simultaneously, the Municipal Corporation initiated its annual development programme for the fiscal year 2021/22 with a budget of Rs600 million.
However, the annual development plans for the fiscal years 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 faced obstacles due to the transition to a caretaker government in Punjab, resulting in the unutilised allocation of Rs3.5 billion intended for development projects.
According to sources within the Municipal Corporation, despite the lack of approval for these annual development programmes, work continues under the Maintenance and Repair (M&R) wing.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2023.