June 29, 2002	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

VEHARI, June 28: The district council on Friday presented a tax-free budget of Rs1,666.945 million for the financial year 2002-3.

Giving the break-up of the budget in the house, district Nazim Mumtaz Khichi said Rs406.697 million would be spent on 481 uplift projects in the district.

He said Rs1249.738 million would be spent of non-development expenditures, including salaries of the employees.

At least Rs30 million, he said, would be spent on the provision of electricity in rural areas, Rs10 million on repairing water channels, Rs25 million on the construction of streets, roads and sewerage system in various union councils.

He said Rs5 million had been allocated for the Forest department, Rs10 million for Health department, Rs15 million for Education department, Rs0.5 million for social welfare, Rs0.5 million for Fisheries department and Rs1 million for information technology. Besides, he said, Rs25 million had been allocated for the agriculture sector.

As many as Rs3 million, he said, had been set aside for the construction of residential government buildings, Rs18 million for common expenditures, Rs59.018 million for governor’s package for roads and Rs5.419 million for Education Sector Reforms (ESR).

The district Nazim said that 186 development projects had been completed out of 481. At least 791 teachers would be recruited on vacant seats in various schools in the district during the year.

The district government, he said, had already appointed 77 doctors on vacant seats of BHUs in the district on contract basis.

Opposition members, including Tahir Iqbal Chaudhry, Mumtaz Wattoo, Malik Zahid and lady councillor Shamila Aslam, criticized the district Naib Nazim’s behaviour with them.

They demanded the release of Dr Nazir Ahmed and development funds for their locality.

Meanwhile, the Tehsil Council also approved the surplus budget of Rs87.5 million for the year 2002-3 here on Friday.

Giving details, tehsil Nazim Mian Saquib Khurshid said Rs24.4 million had been allocated for uplift expenditures, Rs10.2 million for compulsory programme, Rs30 million for ongoing uplift schemes and Rs35.6 million for non-development expenditures.

The main sources of TMA income, he said, would be property tax, cattle mandi fee, licence fee, toll tax and property registration fee.