RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has not imposed new taxes or increased water tariff in its budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 and instead plans to improve the tax recovery.

The board has sent the annual budget worth Rs3.572 billion to the regional director of the Military Lands and Cantonments (MLC) for final approval.

The RCB had raised water charges and property tax in the last fiscal year, however, this year, these heads can only be revised by an elected board following the local government elections.

“RCB allocated Rs301 million for development projects in various areas of the cantonment that had earlier been neglected,” a senior board official told Dawn.

Document sent to MLC for final approval

According to estimates, the total outlay of the budget is Rs3.572 billion, out of which Rs301 million had been set aside for development schemes. The cantonment board will spend Rs1.4 billion under the head of employees’ salaries, Rs700 million on contingency and utility bills, Rs422 million on miscellaneous expenditure and Rs450 million on maintenance and repair.

Total receipts are expected to stand at Rs3.67 billion with the opening balance at Rs97.85 million. More than Rs2,045 million has been set as target to be collected from taxes on property and other heads.

“Last fiscal, we recovered Rs2,108 million under this head,” the official said.

He further said the civic body had recovered Rs653 million in property rent last year while the target for this year has been fixed at Rs1,014 million. However, he added that the civic body had generated more funds through collection of taxes and fees.

Meanwhile, another senior RCB official told Dawn that once new members were elected after the local government elections scheduled for next month, the new body would include more development schemes.

He, however, said under the law, the budget had been prepared and could not be modified till next fiscal year, adding that the board would start development work after the local bodies elections.

To a question about holding consultations with elected members, the RCB spokesperson, Qaiser Mehmood, said it was not possible as the whole process of elections and new members taking oath would be completed in two to three months.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2021