June 26, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 21, 1429

KARACHI, June 25: The Orangi and Gadap town councils passed their respective budgets for the year 2008-09 on Wednesday.

Orangi Town Nazim Abdul Haq presented a tax-free budget. It is a balance budget estimating the receipts and expenditures at Rs490 million.

The major allocations are for non-development expenditure while Rs236.55 million has been earmarked for development, which includes improvement of main roads (Rs10 million), uplift work in all the 13 union councils (Rs97.50 million), improvement of parks/playgrounds and installation of streetlights (Rs20 million).

The nazim said that despite a cut in the Octroi Zila Tax (OZT) share receivable from the provincial government, a hike in the fuel price and a 20 per cent increase in the salaries of its employees, the town administration had tried its best to contain non-development expenditure.

Meanwhile, Gadap Town Nazim Ghulam Murtaza Baloch presented Rs649 million balanced budget for the year 2008-09. Naib Nazim Abdul Sattar Brohi presided over the budget session.

Mr Baloch said that the development programme in the next fiscal could be affected badly due to Rs87.9 million cut in OZT share and an increase of 20 per cent in the employees’ salaries.

He said an amount of Rs252.4 million had been earmarked for development and Rs390 estimated as non-development expenditure.

He said that the town administration would have to look for new sources for revenue generation.

He urged the federal and provincial governments not to slash the allocated funds and, instead, sanction a special grant for the town’s proposed development projects relating to education, healthcare and sports.