CM directs revenue board to explore ways for improving KMC’s revenue

In order to boost the revenue of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) to explore ways and means to collect local taxes on behalf of the KMC.

He took this decision while presiding over a meeting to resolve pension issues of civic bodies such as the KMC, District Municipal Corporations, Karachi Development Authority and other local committees at the CM House on Thursday.

The CM was told that the KMC had 12,900 employees and their salary bill was over Rs560 million and the pension bill was Rs330 million but the recoveries were very low compared to expenditures.

Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said the KMC was paying pension to its retired employees on a regular basis but the payment of gratuity had become an issue, therefore the retired employees were facing problems.

The CM said that it was injustice to the retired employees and the local government department in consultation with the finance department should resolve the issue. For the long term solution of the issue, Shah said the KMC must improve its recovery issues.

He directed the SRB to explore ways and means to start collection of the KMC’s local taxes so that its revenue could be increased. “I want the KMC to be a self-sufficient organisation,” he said.

Shah said the provincial government was giving Rs161.035 million as Octroi and Zila Tax, Rs430 million regular grant-in-aid and Rs215.489 million pension contribution to the KMC on a monthly basis. “We are fully supporting the metropolitan corporation, but it has to be a better organisation by rationalising its expenditures and improving its performance.”

Shah also directed the KMC to digitise its property data through geo-mapping and regularising its unregistered markets. He added that the KMC should conduct a survey for enhancing its rental rates as per their present market value.

He said the KMC had its petrol pumps and it should auction them preferrably to oil companies instead of giving them to individuals. “You have a lot of vacant plots at most valuable locations where the KMC can establish new filling stations, malls on PPP [public private partnership] mode,” he suggested.

Sindh Agriculture Minister Ismail Rahu took up the pension issues of retired employees of market committees and the seed corporation.

The CM directed the chief secretary to resolve those issues by giving them one time relief and then work out a plan so that onward those organisations could pay salaries, pensions and gratuity from their own accounts.

Electrification of villages

Sindh’s chief minister has directed the energy department to expedite the efforts to provide electricity and gas connections to the province’s villages in close coordination with distribution companies (Discos) and the Sui Southern Gas Company.

“We have provided the necessary funds and the details of the villages, so work should be started, and where the work is in progress, it should be expedited, for the larger interest of the villagers,” said Syed Murad Ali Shah during a review meeting at the CM House on Thursday.

Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh said that villages with at least a population of 100 people that are located within four kilometres of existing 11 kilovolt transformers and within a kilometre of high tension power lines qualified for electrification.

The provincial government has selected 1,124 villages for electrification. The Discos have worked out the estimated cost of electrifying 638 villages to be Rs1.473 billion.

The Discos are now working out the estimated cost of electrifying the remaining 486 villages and it may come to Rs966 million. In this way, Rs2.439 billion will be used to electrify 1,124 villages. The CM said the required funds will be provided but the electrification work should be started.

He said that the provincial government had released Rs6.5 billion between the fiscal years 2008-9 and 2012-13 in order to provide gas connections to 961 villages.

He was told that 860 villages have been provided with gas connections at a cost of Rs5.1 billion, work on 43 villages is under way at a cost of Rs361.9 million and work on the remaining 58 villages is yet to be started at a cost of Rs239.983 million.

The meeting was also attended by Planning & Development Chairman Mohammad Waseem, Finance Secretary Hassan Naqvi, Power Director General Azizullah Memon and the oil & gas DG.