‘CB Abbottabad ready for LG polls’

ABBOTTABAD: The Cantonment Board (CB) Abbottabad is ready to facilitate the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the local government elections on April 25 as directed by Supreme Court of Pakistan.
“We have finalised the arrangements to hold the local government election,” said Cantonment Executive Officer (CEO) Malik Umer Farooq while briefing reporters here on Monday.He said efforts were being made to increase the revenue of the Cantonment Board Abbottabad. He said those institutions as well as individuals who had not paid a single penny as tax for many years were being brought into the tax net.
The official said the revenue of the Cantonment Board had increased from Rs200 to Rs360 million.About the commercial activities in residential areas, the CEO added that a crackdown would soon be launched against guesthouses and beauty parlours.
Umer Farooq said tax exemption had been awarded to the residents of underdeveloped areas. He said essential services would be provided in these areas on priority basis in three to five years. He said 70 percent of the development budget would be spent on the neglected areas that included Kakul, Narian, Chuna Kari, Garga, Thanda Choa, Takia, Maira Mirpur and Aspidar.