PHA to navigate financial crunch with innovative business plan

Authority plans to auction 14 roads for installation of digital streamers

JARANWALA:

In response to the Punjab government's categorical denial of future bailout packages, the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) has greenlit a comprehensive business plan aimed at bolstering annual income and curbing the budget deficit.

With the imperative of achieving self-sustainability, the PHA management, under the guidance of Azfar Ali Nasir, Minister for Housing, Urban Development, and Public Health Engineering, convened a meeting to approve several initiatives.

Currently relying on government grant-in-aid and revenue generated through outdoor advertisements, the PHA finds its financial resources inadequate to meet operational costs and developmental endeavours. Consequently, the PHA is now redirecting its focus toward enhancing internal revenue generation.

An anonymous Board of Directors (BOD) member disclosed that among the proposed strategies, one involves the auction of 14 roads for the installation of digital streamers, targeting an annual income of Rs70 million.

Additionally, 23 roundabouts, turns, and crossings have been identified for the installation and auction of 8x4 mappy signs, along with fascia signs on flyovers, underpasses, and pedestrian bridges in Faisalabad, aiming to generate Rs23 million and Rs11 million, respectively.

Read  PHA eyes fee hikes to boost revenue

The PHA is also exploring potential revenue increases by reducing exemptions on non-branded shop boards from 50 square feet to 20 square feet, anticipating an additional Rs50 million annually. Addressing the outdoor advertisement regulatory fee, the BOD disagreed with a proposed 20% increase for the year 2023-24 but agreed to rationalise rates, implementing them from July 1, 2024.

The meeting further approved a fee of Rs50,000 for the issuance of NOC for shop board installations, subject to safety standards. Additionally, it sanctioned Rs100,000 for NOC issuance and Rs50,000 for NOC renewal fees for commercial boards. Proposals for amusement parks at Kaleem Shaheed Park and Kashmir Park received approval.

Furthermore, the board endorsed the increase in NOC fees from Rs50,000 to Rs100,000 per kanal for new housing colonies. The auction of parking areas adjacent to 18 parks was deferred, and revisions were made to the rates for booking parks for marriage ceremonies, raising the fee from Rs7,000 to Rs10,000 per day.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^th, 2024.