OKARA-In its budget session for the year 2018-19, the District Council approved annual budget worth Rs1,544.35 million having expected income of Rs800.34 million and the last year balance of Rs250 million. The assessment is comprised of the provincial grant worth Rs480.816 million under Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) award and local income worth Rs272.486 million.
Chaired by VC Sabahat Nawaz Khan, the meeting was told that the annual expected expenditures are Rs1380.583 million which include salaries of the District Council employees, allowances and the honoraria of the chairman, VCs and of the chairmen of the union councils worth Rs122.50 million. The contingency expenditures include the bills of gas, telephone, electricity, office and the purchase of machinery etc. worth Rs76.821 million.
Besides, the other expenditures include the payment of pension, grant on the death of staffers and share amount of the election expenditures worth Rs72 million. For the maintenance and repairing of different sites including graveyards, playgrounds, field to market roads, mosques, residences, water supply, common roads, district council complex, a sum of Rs53 million was approved.
For new and ongoing development projects, a Rs1000 million was approved.
It was the second complete year budget for session 2018-19; 160 members of District Council including 140 chairmen of the union councils maintained its record to approve the annual budget without any debate, objection and any query regarding the previous outcome or working of the district council.
However, it was interesting in the district council session that the chairmen of the union councils including Rai Muhammad Shafikharal, Malik AfzalWattoo, Ch. AmmarAjmal, Rai Zahoor Kharal, Ali Yaseen Joyia, Muhammad Asghar Khan, Waseem Chaudhary and Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry started taunting each other over supporting different candidates in the general elections, violating the party discipline as among these UCs chairmen belong to the PML-N and one Ali Yaseen Joyia was elected on the PTI ticket.
The house immediately allowed to issuing the withheld amount of the previous year of Rs1.6 million to each union council. It was also decided that the development funds for each union council would be estimated by the DC branch concerned. In the budget, the expenditures for the office of chief officer, district officer finance, district officer regulation, district officer planning and district officer infrastructure & services along with all the offices and staffers have also been allocated.