RAWALPINDI: Though the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has improved its tax collection rate in the first six months of the current fiscal year recovering 52pc of the total target of Rs2.279 billion, it still needs the federal government’s financial assistance for development projects.

This was said by the officials of the RCB at its meeting held on Friday with Station Commander Brigadier Hassan Raza in the chair and attended by cantonment executive officer Dr Saima Shah, vice-president Raja Jehandad and elected members.

During the meeting, the RCB officials presented their six-month performance report and informed the board about the outcome of the drive launched to improve the financial condition of the civic body.

The RCB had set the target of Rs2.279 billion from different taxes, including property tax on residential and commercial units, hoardings and water tariffs, and managed to be well on the target.

The tax recovery branch has been asked to keep the recovery pace during the next six months to achieve the 100pc target, the officials informed the meeting.

“The recovery rate increased in the current fiscal year due to personal interest taken by the RCB cantonment executive officer, Dr Saima Shah, as the enforcement cell working under her supervision recovered taxes without any discrimination,” the RCB vice-president Raja, Jehandad Khan, told Dawn.

“The RCB has prepared a list of chronic defaulters and will send them a final notice. If they do not pay their taxes outstanding against them for many years, their commercial units will be sealed,” said RCB spokesman Qaiser Mehmood.

However, the meeting was informed that the recovery rate had not improved the financial condition of the civic body, which requested the board to seek financial help from the federal government in the shape of grant-in-aid.

At this, the elected members decided to meet the federal government representatives and the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

All the elected members in 10 wards of the cantonment board belonged to the ruling PML-N.

The RCB requires Rs214 million for de-silting and reconstruction of boundary walls of eight big nullahs as these create problems in the monsoon.

The board also decided to improve the procedure for the recovery of tax on transfer of immoveable property so that the citizens can pay the taxes without any problem.

The meeting also discussed the payment of compensation to the heirs of officials who died during service. The contract of the canteen of Cantonment General Hospital, building plans, hiring of lawyers to pursue the cantonment cases in the courts and the installation of hoarding near railway bridge at Marrir Chowk were also taken up.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2016