Sindh government to take up Rs 9.6 million UC funds issue with CDGK: Qaim assures opposition

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) would take up the long standing issue of payment of Rs 9.6 million funds to the union councils (UCs) with the City District Government Karachi after coming to power in Sindh province.
According to reliable sources Syed Qaim Ali Shah made the assurance when a delegation of opposition members in the city council called on the PPP nominee for the Sindh Chief Minister slot on March 10, 2008. The delegation comprising various groups including Awam Dost, Al-Khidmat, Khidmatgar, Al-Khadim Watan Dost group etc met the PPP leader at his residence and complained against the CDGK for withholding the long-awaited UC funds.
It may be recalled that the opposition members in city council have long been demanding and staging consecutive walkouts from the house over the release of Rs 9.6 million funds allocated by the CDGK for developmental works in UCs in the Budget 2006-07 and 2007-08. The UC nazims from opposition benches claim that the city government had adopted a discriminatory attitude towards them and was purposely withholding the funds to impede uplift projects in the opposition UCs.
The Haq Parast-led CDGK, however, justifies delay in the payment of funds by saying that the local government was running short of money and would release the funds as soon as it gets the resources.
The delegation led by leader of opposition and Awam Dost Panel in city council Saeed Ghani told the chief minister-designate that the delay was causing incalculable hardships for the UC nazims and contractors were refusing to undertake new projects due to non-payment of outstanding dues.
The PPP leader assured the delegation that their problems would be resolved on "priority basis" as soon as his party takes over the helm of affairs in Sindh government. Meanwhile, a UC nazim, who preferred not be named, told Business Recorder that his area was badly suffering due to the delay in payment of funds and so far he had received only Rs 0.4 million out of Rs 9.6 million allocated in Budget 2006-07. In the current budget he said not even a penny was paid to his UC by the CDGK.
On February 6, the opposition members had held a token hunger strike outside Karachi Press Club to protest withholding of the funds by the CDGK for the last three years. The protesters were also critical of city nazim for making, what they claimed, "false and baseless" claims on issuance of the said funds.
The protesters had also distributed a "factual report", which had accused the CDGK of withholding around Rs 4.38 billion UC funds in total and rejected the city nazim's claim that the CDGK was treating the UCs equally and without any discrimination.