KARACHI: Mayor Waseem Akhtar has presented Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC)’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 Merchawala were also present on the occasion. 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 and district development programme (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 were allocated for the establishment, Rs 2,075.664 million for contingency expenses and Rs 251.685 million for repair and maintenance, thus totaling 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, Waseem 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 was raising income-adopt self reliance under which non development expenditures curtailed and more attention was on development activities, he remarked. Waseem said Governor Sindh has assured of providing funds for development works in Karachi after he talked to the federal government. If Prime Minister provided any money, it would be spent in all districts of Karachi. He said the development works and projects would be made transparent and he 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 posts. He also announced full scale tree plantation drive in the city after the Eid. Despite unfriendly economic conditions, they were presenting Rs 13 billion development budget for next year which included Rs 750 million worth development schemes suggested by the elected representatives of the council whereas additional Rs one billion were allocated for development works in union committees. He 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, 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 have also been completed in Karachi. He said they have planned to bring public private partnership schemes next year to raise the development portfolio further. Besides Rs 21 billion development package has been sent to the Prime Minister and in case of its approval, they would bring lot of development works in Karachi. Published in Daily Times, June 20th, 2017.