City govt budget approved amid meek protest

During budget debate, around 20 members of the house including that of opposition highlighted both the positive and negative aspects of the budget. During the debate, almost 10 proposals were given by the members that include increase of development funds of minority wing members, formation of implementation committee for the budget, regularisation of work charge employees, empowering district assembly members to call the rolls of sanitary workers, establishment of at least three to four waste enclosures in each union council, increase in the number of sanitary workers, extend WASA services in entire Lahore and establishment of flyovers at Saman Abad Morr, Multan Road and Chowk Yatim Khana. The leader of the house accepted all the proposals.

The CDG has allocated Rs 16.72 billion for development and Rs 12.98 billion for non-development expenditures. The CDG has neither imposed any new tax nor it increased the already levied taxes. All the proposals presented by the treasury and opposition members were made part of the budget. The CDG has increased the honorarium for women members from Rs 1500 to Rs 10,000 while it also decided to forward recommendations to the Punjab government to increase the honorarium for the union council nazims and naib nazims. The proposal to increase the development fund of minority members from Rs 4 million to Rs 8 million that is equal to other members was also accepted.

For the development of educational sector, Rs 1.59 billion had been allocated out of which Rs 0.29 billion had been reserved for the ongoing schemes and Rs 1.68 billion for the new schemes that include establishment of new class rooms in 250 government schools, upgradation of schools from primary to middle and middle to higher secondary level.

For the health sector, Rs 0.31 billion had been allocated out of which 0.27 billion are for the new and Rs 40.66 million for the completion of ongoing schemes. A budget of Rs 28 million had been allocated for municipal services and out of which Rs 3 million had been reserved for the ongoing schemes and Rs 25 million for the new ones.