Karak district nazim, deputy lock horns over budget

KARAK: District Nazim Dr Umar Daraz failed to present the annual budget for the fiscal year 2018-19 in the district council due to differences between him and Naib Nazim Major (r) Sajjad Barakwal. The funds of the last two annual budgets are still pending with the provincial government which has affected the working of the departments.

When contacted, a district council member said the district had not received funds for the last two budgets and the current budget was third one. He said that funds amounting to Rs560 million of the last two budgets were lying in the district government account but the money could not be utilised as the budgets have not been passed from the district council.

The member recalled that the district nazim did not call the district council's meeting in the last two years. He said that under the law at least three meetings of the district council should be held in a month. He lamented that they had been without funds for the last three years and they only received the funds of the first budget of fiscal year 2015-16.

The district councillor painted a bleak picture of the situation and claimed that the district nazim was not interested in convening the meeting of the council as he was not ready to provide equal funds to all district councilors.