KARACHI   -  The Sindh government has finally notified increased allocation of funds for the local government institutions through the Octroi Zilla Tax (OZT) and enhanced amount for each union councils and union committees across the province, increasing it from half a million rupees to Rs1.2m. Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab Siddiqi announced the development on social media, claiming that the increase of 140 per cent in monthly funding of the UCs would enable them to solve their basic issues. “Happy to inform that as announced by the CM Sindh, Rs12 lacs have been transferred to all Union Committees as their monthly OZT share. This is an increase of 140 per cent and will enable UC chairpersons to solve their basic issues of their areas,” the mayor, who is also spokesman of the Sindh government, posted on X [formerly Twitter]. The Sindh CM had announced to increase the OZT allocation for local bodies from the new fiscal starting from July 2024.

The new financial arrangements would help the municipal corporations, including the KMC, to receive a 30pc larger share of the OZT and district councils, municipal committees, and town committees to receive a 20pc increase in their funds. Mayor Wahab says 140pc hike will enable city’s 246 union committees to solve basic issues With respective neighbourhoods and suburban localities, Karachi has a total of 25 towns and 246 UCs.

In Sindh, the total number of local body institutions is 1,870, including 1,618 union councils and union committees, 143 town committees, 36 municipal committees, 22 district councils, 45 town municipal corporations, 5 divisional municipal corporations and one metropolitan corporation.

Meanwhile, All Pakistan Local Government Workers Federation and Sajjan Union welcomed the Sindh government’s move and hoped that with new financial space, the workers of the local bodies would be paid their enhanced salaries and pension with two-month arrears.

In a statement, Sajjan Union leader Syed Zulfiqar Shah claimed that it was in fact the struggle of the union which had recently called for a sit-in outside Sindh Secretariat if the funds, announced in the last budget, weren’t released by the provincial government.