KARACHI - Mayor Wasim Akhtar Monday presented the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s Rs27,135.670million budget for financial year 2017-18 during KMC council session. Deputy Mayor Dr Arshad Vohra and Municipal Commissioner Hanif Muhammad Merchawala were also present on this occasion.

According to the budgetary documents, total receipts in the budget for year 2017-18 are Rs26,835.587million, including Rs18,015.485million as current receipts and Rs1,795.500million as capital receipts. Funds for provincial annual development programme (ADP), district ADP and the viability gap funding (VGF) will be Rs7,024.602million.

The total expenditure for the next fiscal year will be Rs27,135.670million out of which Rs11,738.239million allocated for the establishment; Rs2,075.664million for contingent expenses and Rs251.685m for repair and maintenance, total Rs14,065.588million. Besides, Rs6,045.480million has been earmarked for development projects and works, while expenditures from provincial ADP, district ADP and VGF will be Rs7,024.602million.

Giving details of the budget, Mayor Karachi said all efforts were made to make this budget realistic and balanced. No new tax is levied and focus was mainly on making existing revenue resources better. The slogan for this budget is “raise our income-adopt self reliance” under which non development expenditures curtailed and more attention was on development activities.

He said the Governor Sindh has assured providing some funds for development works in Karachi from the federal government. If Prime Minister provides such money this would be spent in all districts of Karachi. He said the development works and projects would be made transparent. Mayor Karachi warned the departmental heads of KMC to provide all required information to city council’s committee members on immediate basis or they would be removed from their post. He also announced full scale tree plantation drive in the city after Eid.

He said despite unfavourable conditions, we are presenting Rs13billion development budget for next year which include Rs750million worth development schemes suggested by the elected representatives of the council whereas additional one billion rupees were allocated for development works in union committees. He once again accused the Sindh government for distributing the revenue function to various organizations which incurred billions of rupees loss annually to KMC.

Referring to development works that had been carried out in the city since the time he took charge of his office he said a total of 225 District ADP Schemes were completed during 2016-17 with Rs4.25billion whereas Rs3787million worth 41 schemes under provincial ADP also completed in Karachi. He said we have planned to bring many public private partnership schemes next year to raise the development portfolio further. Besides Rs21billion development package was also sent to the Prime Minister which if approved would bring lot of development works in Karachi.