| ISLAMABAD-The Capital Development Authority has failed to achieve its highly ambitious revenue targets projected in the budget estimates of the last financial year and missed almost Rs.260 billion from the projected receipts.
The CDA board in its meeting held on Tuesday under the chair of Captain (retired) Noor ul Amin Mengal not only approved the budget estimates for the current financial year but also approved the revised estimates for the last year.
It is pertinent to mention here that though the authority had projected very high revenue targets in the proposed budget estimates of the last year, the claims were proved wrong at the end of the financial year 2022-23.
In the last year, it was proposed that the authority will collect Rs.330 billion as revenue under different heads but actually it could only secure Rs.69.037 billion at the end of June 2023.
The major source of funds in CDA is its self-financing account in which funds obtained from the sale of residential and commercial plots have been collected. In the last budget, it was envisioned that the civic authority will get Rs.234 billion in this head.
However, CDA could only get Rs.24.86 billion under this head at the end of the year while it also failed to recover Rs.52 billion -- outstanding towards different government agencies i.e. Water and Sanitation Agency, Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, Pakistan Television Corporation, Radio Pakistan, Metropolitan Corporation and others.
An amount of Rs.56.18 billion was payable to the CDA but the civic authority could only recover Rs.4.139 billion in the last financial year.
Meanwhile, CDA board has approved budget estimates of the civic authority worth about Rs.150 billion for the year 2023-24 by keeping its receipts and expenditures in balance.
According to details, the finance wing of the authority has prepared the budget estimates in realistic terms and according to the same, CDA would receive Rs.150.94 billion through different sources while it has planned to spend Rs.150.1 billion in the current fiscal year.
The finance wing projected in budget estimates that the road authority will get Rs.78.93 billion through its self-financing account, Rs.3.9 billion in its revenue account comprising property, water charges and others, Rs.1 billion from Metropolitan Corporation, and Rs.52 billion as outstanding amount from different aforementioned state entities. It is worth noting here that besides shrinking financial space in the civic authority, no extraordinary increase has been proposed in different taxes to enhance revenues.
At the same time, it is purposed in the budget document that the authority will spend Rs.150.09 billion in this financial year including Rs.107 billion on development works, Rs.16.25 billion on salaries and pension, Rs.8.5 billion in contingencies while Rs.1 billion will be given to MCI as a loan to run its affairs.
The CDA board also gives approval of the brochure of an upcoming auction of restaurants plots in the capital street, which will be located at Shakarparian Area near Pak-China Friendship Centre.
According to the brochure, 20 plots measuring 500 square yards are going to be presented for the open auction but only those people who have the valid proof of doing restaurant or an allied business from the last 5 years could participate in this auction.
The Capital Street is promised by the city managers to be established on international standards, however, such tall claims of civic authority could not materialize in most of the cases in the past.
The board has also approved revised layout plans for sector D-13, E-13 and F-13. Earlier, the LOPs of these sectors were approved but without topographic surveys that created multiple planning issues but now these LOPs are revised with proper topographic surveys.
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