Mayor Karachi unveils KMC Budget for 2017-18

KARACHI: Mayor Wasim Akhtar presented the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's Rs 27,135.670 million budget for financial year 2017-18 during KMC council session on Monday.

Deputy Mayor, Dr Arshad Vohra and Municipal Commissioner Hanif Muhammad Merchawala were also present on this occasion, said a statement on Monday.

Total receipts in the budget for year 2017-18 are Rs 26,835.587 million, including Rs 18,015.485 million as current receipts and Rs 1,795.500 million as capital receipts.

Funds for provincial annual development programme (ADP), district ADP and the viability gap funding (VGF) will be Rs 7,024.602 million.

The total expenditure for the next fiscal year will be Rs 27,135.670 million out of which Rs 11,738.239 million allocated for the establishment; Rs 2,075.664 million for contingent expenses and Rs 251.685 million for repair and maintenance, totalling Rs 14,065.588 million.

Besides, Rs 6,045.480 million has been earmarked for development projects and works, while expenditures from provincial ADP, district ADP and VGF will be Rs 7,024.602 million.

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.

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.

The Mayor Karachi warned the departmental heads of KMC to provide all required information to city council's committee memebers 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 unfovorable conditions, we are presenting Rs 13 billion development budget for next year which include Rs 750 million 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 Rs 4.25 billion whereas Rs 3787 million 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 Rs 21 billion development package was also sent to the Prime Minister which if approved would bring lot of development works in Karachi.