0
LAHORE, July 30: The Lahore District Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a Rs4.913 billion tax-free surplus budget for 2002-03 by show of hands.
The budget showing a surplus of Rs3.190 million was presented by district Nazim Mian Amir Mahmood at the annual budget session held at Jinnah Hall with Naib Nazim Farooq Amjad Mir in the chair.
Mian Amir said expected income was Rs4.913 billion while expenditure was estimated at Rs4.910 billion.
Giving details of the expenditure he said Rs3.947 billion had been set aside for the establishment and non-salary budget while Rs622.360 million had been spared for funding the schemes under the provincial annual development programme and another Rs340.730 million for transfer to the six city government towns and the Lahore Cantonment Board.
He said Rs382.697 million had been allocated from the district provincial account for 41 ongoing and 154 new schemes and Rs436 million from the local fund account for 603 ongoing and 39 new development schemes last year.
He said the allocation for district provincial fund schemes was raised to Rs994 million after allocation of Rs612 million for water supply and drainage, gas supply, education and solid waste disposal machinery. The provincial government provided Rs721 million to the CDG for the district provincial fund schemes. The CDG had completed 141 schemes by utilizing Rs426 million.
He said 276 local fund account schemes had been transferred to the towns along with the budget and 168 were completed by the CDG. Most of the remaining schemes were nearing completion. Three of the district account ADP schemes related to bricklining of the canals, laser levelling of fields and establishment of agricultural machinery pools whereas 12 of 49 water supply and drainage schemes were completed in rural areas. The CDG had also established 724 literacy centres in the district last year. As many as 55 schemes were completed from the district account ADP and 168 from the local fund ADP.
He said 1,427 development schemes were approved under the 2001-02 ADP for execution at an estimated cost of Rs1,203.75 million. Of Rs1,048.857 million released for the schemes, Rs650.529 million had been utilized so far.
He said the federal and provincial governments provided Rs215 million to the Works and Services Department of the CDG for 296 schemes last year. Of these 276 schemes had been completed at a cost of Rs209.03 million. The department started work on 653 schemes last year and completed 495 at a cost of Rs282 million.
DEBATE: Opening budget debate, Navid Sadiq claimed that the deficit budget had been made surplus only by adding the grants of Rs211 million expected from the provincial and federal governments. He said no allocations had been made for the education, health and social welfare, literacy, transport and Solid Waste Management in the budget.
He said Rs30 million had been allocated for the district Nazim and Naib Nazim offices while the expenditure on the remaining CDG offices was Rs28 million.
He claimed that the non-development expenditure was 87.32 per cent of the budget.
Mian Amir said the expenditure on education was Rs2.1 billion while he and the Naib Nazim were receiving a symbolic honoraria of Re1 per month. The allocation of Rs2 million was meant for payment of TA/DA to the council members attending its sessions.
He said the CDG would get a grant of Rs211 million from the federal and provincial government this year as it had completed development works of Rs1.8 billion from their grants last year.
Salman Rafiq said the CDG was taking credit for the Ring Road and Light Rail Transit schemes started during the Nawaz Sharif era. It was spending millions on development works in the areas from where its ‘like-minded’ candidates were expected to contest elections.
He said the entire development undertaken by it was less than half of that completed by Shahbaz Sharif.
Hamid Husain said the CDG was still paying Rs200 million overspent by Shahbaz Sharif.
Chaudhry Asghar said Rs2 million allocated for the TA/DA of the council members and Rs2.5 million earmarked for the fairs should be utilized for development.
He said the CDG had neither allocated funds for woman councillors nor for three development schemes promised to be completed on the recommendation of every UC Nazim last year.
Responding to a question of Malik Shahid Aslam, the Nazim said every UC in the city district would get an assistance of Rs160,000 per month against Rs45,000 to Rs60,000 to be provided to the UCs in other districts of the Punjab in accordance with the Finance Commission Award. He said the UC was not bound to fund all the development schemes proposed by the Citizen Community Boards.
He said the solid waste management had been devolved in view of complaints of corruption.
Jamil Asghar Bhatti accused the CDG engineering branch of extorting 12 per cent commission from the UCs. He called for starting classes in the Bulleh Shah Public School, Thokar Niaz Beg, built over six acres at a cost of Rs40 million.
He said UCs could execute works costing up to Rs100,000 on their own. The district would provide 75 per cent subsidy to UCs for water supply, sewerage and drainage schemes. Rashid Chaudhry said minorities had been ignored in the budget like last year.
The Nazim said a number of schemes were being completed on the recommendations of the UC Nazimeen and women councillors. The left over schemes would be completed this year.
HONORARIUM: Responding to criticism of some councillors on the CDG for denying them the honorarium whereas the Data Ganj Bakhsh Town had sanctioned it in the 2002-03 budget, he said there was no provision for the grant of honorarium to the councillors in the law.
He said the Data Ganj Bakhsh Town had included the honorarium in its budget only for shifting the blame for its denial. The budgetary proposal would not be approved by the government.
TEACHERS: Referring to the condemnation of baton charge on teachers by Chaudhry Asghar and other councillors, Mian Amir said they had been maltreated due to misunderstanding.
