HYDERABAD, March 10: The district Nazim has constituted an 8- member committee, comprising one union council Nazim from each taluka, to talk to the Sindh government about the union council share in the octroi tax income.

Nazim Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman took the decision here on Tuesday at a meeting on development works of Hyderabad rural and Tando Mohammad Khan talukas. Speaking on the occasion, he said that previously district and union councils were empowered to collect octroi tax but later the system was abolished.

He said that now the government had agreed to provide octroi tax share to the district government but the issue of the UCs' share had not yet been decided.

He further said that the government had also agreed to clear the liabilities against development works completed before the devolution of power and a technical committee, headed by the works and services EDO, had been constituted in this regard.

The Nazim informed the meeting that development schemes of Rs1.3 million had been allocated for each UC in addition to other development schemes costing Rs600,000 for each taluka.

Mr Rafiquzzaman directed the UC Nazims to get their development schemes passed by the councils and submit them by March 15 and added that Rs159 million had been allocated to complete the schemes by the year end.

Responding to a question about non-execution of development schemes previously allocated by the district government for each UC, the Nazim said that the scheme funds had lapsed due to late release.