June 28, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 12, 1428

BAHAWALPUR, June 27: The district government’s surplus budget of Rs3,683.201 million for the next financial year has been placed before the district council which began its two-day budget session at Rashadia Hall on Wednesday.

Presenting the budget, District Nazim Tariq Cheema announced that no new tax had been proposed. He said Rs100 million had been earmarked for development, Rs445 million for ongoing and Rs147.398 million for new uplift schemes.

Besides, a sum of Rs387 million would be utilised on development projects through citizen community boards.

Giving the breakdown while speaking at a press conference later, the district nazim said the major allocations proposed in the budget were: Rs1,708 million for education, Rs370 million for health (including Rs41 million for medicines), Rs105 million for agriculture and Rs40 million for road network.

Among the major schemes to be completed during the next financial year were dualisation of carriageway between Karachi Morr and Chowk Fowara, Islamia University’s and other road projects and work on rural health centres.

The nazim told a questioner that Gulzar-i-Sadiq would be handed over to the Tehsil Municipal Administration in July after which its development work would be taken in hand.

He said the Punjab government had contributed Rs100 million to the Rs2 billion worth of project of the establishment of the country’s first institute of neurosciences. It would be attached to the Quaid-i-Azam Medical College here. The provincial government would soon appoint the project director, he added.

Boasting of mega development projects undertaken in Bahawalpur, the nazim said the district government would give Rs25 million for the construction of a new building for the arts council.