MULTAN, Nov 6: Budget of the Multan city tehsil council was approved on Tuesday for the year 2001-2002 amid objections and hooliganism.

The city council has estimated its income for the ongoing financial year at Rs397.731 million against the estimated expenditures of Rs396.603 million. Some 130 vacant posts have been abolished from the schedule of establishment.

Presenting the budget, city Nazim Faisal Mukhtar said Rs223.4 million would be received from the Punjab government as the alternative of octroi tax, Rs81.2 million from various taxes, Rs29.4 million from various fees, Rs15 million from rent, Rs21.6 million from road-cut compensation from the PTCL, Rs4.5 million by selling corporation’s property, Rs4 million as temporary accounts under the heads of group insurance and mortgages, Rs15 million from recoverable dues and Rs3.5 million from miscellaneous resources.

The Nazim said Rs229 million would be spent on the salaries of the MC staff, Rs56.2 million on operative expenses, Rs26.2 million on compulsory expenses (audit fee, local council board, payment of the cantonment board share, civil defence, scholarships and natural calamities), Rs4 million on temporary accounts, Rs30.01 million on initial constructions and for the purchase of material, Rs5 million for repairs, Rs14.5 million for liability development programmes, Rs21.643 million for PTCL construction of roads plan and Rs10 million for pensions, dues and computation for the employees.

In this way, 65.3 per cent of the budget will be spent on non-developmental expenditures and 34.7 per cent on development projects.

City tehsil Naib Nazim and convener Dr Muzaffar Ahsan Qureshi presided over the special session convened to approve the amended budget for the urban council. Council members, including Rahat Langah, Nadeem Qureshi and Usman Bhatti, started shouting when the session started. The protesting members said the house was not consulted before finalizing the budget.

The session also approved the contracts of toll tax, loading fee and luxury coaches fee.

Lady councillors Rabia Akbar and Naheed Hafeez objected that no allocation had been made in the budget for women. Another councillor, Basharat Qureshi, urged the house to allocate funds for the conservation of monuments of the city.