KARACHI, June 22: Sindh government has released Rs200 million to the City district government under the head of property tax.

According to sources, the Sindh government’s finance department under the head of property tax had earlier released Rs100 million to the city district government for the current financial year. That makes it Rs300 million so far against Rs950m, which means that Rs650m are still with the provincial government under this head.

Even during 2001-2002, the CDGK had received an mount short of Rs400m under the head of property tax.

The sources said that under the rules the CDGK, after receiving the funds under the head of property tax, disbursed it among 18 TMAs under an agreed formula.

They said that since the property and entertainment taxes, after being received from the provincial government, was passed on to the TMAs. The provincial government’s earlier decision of withholding the property tax amount on the plea that it had been deducted at source to adjust the KESC’s outstanding bills against the city’s local government institutions was not justified because the KESC had been charging commercial rates from the TMAs, although the bulk of electricity they were consuming was for illuminating streetlights and not for commercial purposes.

“If fact, city Nazim Naimatullah Khan recently raised the issue at a meeting with the Sindh governor, and the latter has directed the finance and local government departments to help resolve the issue,” the sources said.

The city Nazim was of the opinion that since the bulk of electricity being consumed by the TMAs was for streetlights, the KESC shouldn’t issue electricity bills to the TMAs on commercial basis, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the city government’s finance department has directed the city government’s property tax department to deposit the property tax amount in the city government’s account from July 1, 2003.