RAWALPINDI: Punjab Finance Minister Ayesha Ghaus Pasha on Monday rejected the annual budgets of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa).

She asked the officials concerned to ‘redefine’ the budgets by removing extra expenditures and present it before the governing body on September 23.

She took the decision while reviewing the performance of the RDA and Wasa at the RDA governing body meeting held at the commissioner office on Monday.

Acting Commissioner Talat Mehmood Gondal, Mayor Sardar Naseen Ahmed Khan, Parliamentary Secretary Sarfraz Afzal, Chairman Rawalpindi Waste Management Company MPA Raja Hanif Advocate, Vice Chairman Wasa Ziaullah Shah, MPA Lubna Rehan and senior officers attended the meeting.

Officials told to remove extra expenditures and introduce austerity measures

The RDA budget worth over Rs1.913 billion and that of Wasa amounting to over Rs1.053 billion with a deficit of Rs3 billion were presented before the governing body.

However, the finance minister, who is also the chairperson of the governing body, asked the RDA and Wasa to redefine the expenditures making austerity measures. She said the utilisation of funds should be transparent.

A senior official of the RDA told Dawn that the minister wanted to increase the rates of fines on illegal constructions and housing societies so the trend of illegal construction could be checked.

The minister also asked the RDA to start work on the preparation of a master plan of Rawalpindi for the next two or three decades.

She said the groundwater level in Rawalpindi had dropped to below 650 feet so instead of digging new tubewells Wasa should focus on the alternative sources of water supply to the citizens.

She said all necessary work for the launch of the water supply scheme to Rawalpindi from the Ghazi Barotha Dam should be completed. Steps should also be taken for the launch of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project and the RDA housing scheme.

According to a press release, Ms Pasha said the opinion of Wasa, Wapda, highways and other departments should be included in the terms of references for the master plan.

She also directed the constitution of a committee to review proposals for the master plan.

She said all development authorities, including the RDA, should be self-reliant.

The mayor said a plan for the ring road was necessary to meet traffic congestion in the city.

He said as the water level in the city was falling rapidly, Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was taking personal interest in the launch of the Ghazi Barotha water supply scheme.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2017