• Major allocations include district ADP schemes (Rs9bn), healthcare (Rs7.29bn), development projects (Rs7.43bn), municipal services (Rs5.30bn).
• Opposition members protest exclusion of their UCs from development funds
KARACHI: Mayor Murtaza Wahab presented a Rs55.28bn Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) budget for the year 2025-26 at the City Council amid noisy protest and sloganeering from the opposition benches on Tuesday.
The total expenditures have been estimated at Rs55.13bn, showing a modest surplus of Rs146.272m.
Despite the opposition’s uproar, Mayor Wahab continued with his budget speech to give details of allocations, saying that significant investments had been earmarked in the medical and health services (Rs7.29bn), development projects, including the World Bank-funded CLICK (Competitive and Livable City of Karachi) project (Rs7.43bn), municipal services (Rs5.30bn) and infrastructure under the district ADP schemes (Rs9bn).
“This budget is not just a set of figures, but a reflection of two years of struggle, consistency and tough decisions made for the betterment of Karachi,” he said. “We have set Karachi on the path of financial stability, and this journey will continue with this budget.”
The mayor, highlighted the key aspects of the revenue and expenditure framework. He pointed out that the current receipts are projected at Rs44.15bn, capital receipts at Rs2.13bn and District ADP funds at Rs9 billion.
On the expenditure side, he said, major allocations included Rs31.59bn for establishment costs, Rs13.41bn for pension fund, bailout and miscellaneous expenses.
He mentioned the launch of transformative initiatives aimed at increasing transparency and efficiency in municipal governance.
“For the first time, KMC employees’ salaries have been transferred to the SAP system, with pensions to follow, ensuring transparency and timely disbursements,” he stated. Another significant reform is the resumption of Municipal Utility Charges and Taxes (MUCT) collection through K-Electric, which has already yielded Rs1.7bn this year.
“We expect to collect Rs3bn to Rs3.5bn next year through MUCT,” the mayor said, adding that these funds will play a crucial role in strengthening KMC’s financial independence and ensuring critical infrastructure development.
The KMC budget also features a set of special development initiatives aimed at sustainable urban growth and civic improvement. Among the key projects are the solarisation of KMC buildings with an allocation of Rs220.2m, the creation of an urban forest at Gutter Baghicha with at a cost of Rs50m, and the development of Kidney Hill Park with an equal allocation of Rs50m. Additionally, monthly grants of Rs100,000 have been earmarked for each Union Council, totaling Rs295.2m, while Rs500m has been allocated for MUCT-funded special projects.
The mayor told the house: “We have initiated public-private partnerships for urban forests along Lyari and Malir river banks and have invested in modernising markets, parks and hospitals.”
He further noted that historic landmarks such as Denso Hall, Khaliq Dina Hall, KMC Building and Frere Hall have already been renovated, and next year restoration of iconic sites, including Empress Market, Machhi Miani Market and Lea Market, would be started as per the commitment to preserve Karachi’s architectural heritage.
Opposition’s uproar
The budget session was marred by uproar and chaos. The opposition council members, led by Saifuddin Advocate, Leader of the Opposition in the City Council, disrupted proceedings with protests against the budget calling it “a discriminatory and ineffective budget”.
“This is Murtaza Wahab’s fifth budget — two as the Karachi administrator and three as the mayor — and like the last ones, it is also visionless and exclusionary,” Saifuddin Advocate said in a press conference. “No development schemes have been included for the UCs controlled by Jamaat-i-Islami or PTI, once again proving that this budget is not for all Karachiites.”
He went further claiming that the CLICK project had Rs6 billion allocated last year, but only Rs670m were actually spent.
“Even Mayor Wahab has admitted that the department failed to prepare schemes, resulting in unutilised funds. This is not simply mismanagement, a betrayal with the city,” Saifuddin said.
The opposition leader also presented a shadow budget in response to the KMC’s official financial plan. The opposition’s alternative proposals included an allocation Rs30m for development schemes in each union council and a dedicated Rs1.5bn for health services and transformation of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital into a model healthcare facility.
The opposition leader demanded a forensic audit of the ADP book, alleging that many of the 446 schemes listed either did not exist or were fabricated to misappropriate public funds.
Despite the ruckus, during the session, the budget was tabled and proceedings resumed, after a break, under the chairmanship of Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad, with parliamentary and opposition leaders offering their views.
The opposition members, primarily from Jamaat-i-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), accused the mayor of excluding their UCs in grants for development schemes for a second consecutive year.
Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2025
