Opposition in the city district council has demanded the allocation of discretionary fund of union councillors Rs 6.4 million in the fiscal budget 2006-07 for the development of union councils.
Presiding over the city council meeting, City Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil resumed the continued post-budget session with the Asif Siddique's speech here at the city council hall on Tuesday.
Terming the budget 'historical', Asif Siddique said the City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal had allocated a huge chunk of fund in the budget for the development of the city. He said the fund was 20 percent higher than the previous city government's allocation made in the last budget.
Criticising the previous city government, he said that school falling under the jurisdiction of city government had been lying desolated due to previous city government's negligence. Appreciating the incumbent city government, he said it had brought the standards of its schools up to the other competitive schools in the city, in a short span of time.
Elaborating his points, he said the city government had chalked out a plan to establish around 36 model schools, on the basis of two each in a town, without any prejudices and discrimination. " A first ever Cadet College in the city, the incumbent city government is going to establish on a 16 acres of land," he maintained.
On the development of rural areas and Goths, he said that city government had also allocated Rs 20 million for their development so as to provide them with basic facilities.
In later part of his speech, Siddique alleged Saeed Ghani the leader of Awam Dost Panel for working as a secretary information of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the council. Within a twinkling of an eye, Dilawar Shah of the same panel, chanted his party's slogan as a reaction to Asif Siddique's allegation, which caught the council hall in uproar.
Nasreen Jalil asked him to maintain the parliamentary decorum and avoid chanting party's slogans in the council hall. Dilawar Shah further entangled with Nasreen Jalil on which she asked him that such kind of a behaviour in the council would not be tolerated and if he kept chanting slogans then he could leave the house. However, Saeed Ghani and Rafiq Ahmed brought the situation under control. Meanwhile, Nasreen Jalil called the name of Rafiq Ahmed the parliamentary leader of Al-Khidmat panel to speak on budget.
He said the budget for fiscal year 2006-07 had nothing for the union councillors to carry out uplift projects in their respective union councils as City Nazim brush aside the discretionary fund Rs 6.4 million, even those had been allocated in the last fiscal budget.
Regarding the development fund for union councils, he said that there was no details and elaboration regarding Rs 9.5 million announced by the City Nazim in his budget speech. He added his announcement had deprived the union councillors of their due discretionary fund.
He said it was not a tax-free budget because several days back the same city district council had increased the leasing rates for katchi abadis, rent and taxes for using the slaughterhouses and all its related business. Rafiq said that in the face of already existing taxes had been imposed on general public before the budget, it could not be termed as a tax-free budget.
During his speech, Naib Nazim left the council hall and senior presiding officer Masood Mehmood presided over the meeting. Continuing his speech, Rafiq said that all parks in the city being constructed were the genuine projects undertaken by the previous city government and the incumbent city government was taking undue credit of them.
Condemning the city government, he said the city government converted the women library complex into a hospital. He said there was an ample land in the city for construction of the hospitals but the library was a project aimed to facilitate the girls in acquiring education and was funded by the women union councillors besides a woman member of the providential assembly through their discretionary fund. A woman member of the Awam Dost Penal, Shamim Mumtaz Wasi said that the budget was a game of mere figures and had nothing concrete for the development of the city.
Stressing for the need of a single education system in the country, she said the private education sector should be closed forthwith.