SAHIWAL: Commissioner Shoaib Iqbal has approved a budget of Rs1.37 billion for the Metropolitan Corporation (MC) of Sahiwal for the 2023-24 fiscal.

With the local governments dysfunctional, the commissioner has taken the charge as the administrator to oversee all administrative and financial matters of the MC.

The corporation is expected to generate Rs1.29 billion in revenue through its own resources, while the remaining funds will be granted by the Local Government and Community Development department.

The total budget allocation includes Rs527.45 million for the non-development budget, mainly covering staff salaries and Rs154.30 million for the development budget.

Dr Saifullah, Director of LG&CD, provided further details on the budget allocation.

The funds will be utilised for various purposes, such as Rs5 million for the Clean and Green Punjab initiative, Rs10.5 million for the maintenance and repairing of streetlights, Rs8 million for water supply schemes’ maintenance and repair, Rs40.4 million for sewerage and manhole covers, Rs170 million for electricity bills of streetlights and neighbourhoods, Rs2 million for pandemic measures, Rs100 million for pension, Rs1.5 million for the purchase of rabies vaccine and Rs2 million for dengue-related initiatives.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2023