LAHORE: The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) governing body has rejected authority’s budget proposals for the current financial year, asking it to constitute a proper finance committee and come up with rational proposals.

The governing body also rejected LDA’s proposal to increase water tariff for domestic consumers either at 47 per cent or 167 per cent across the board, asserting that it’s irrational to charge properties across the board.

The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Thursday. LDA Director General Amna Imran Khan and governing body members attended the meeting.

Governing body asks officials to come up with rational plans

Sources told Dawn that the LDA sought approval for its current fiscal (2018-19) budget to the tune of around Rs38 million but without doing any homework and put forward irrational proposals for the increase in water tariff.

It is learnt that the budget proposals were not considered in authority’s finance committee and were sent to the governing body members only a day before Wednesday’s gazetted holiday. Most of the governing body members in the meeting said they were not even able to see the budget’s working paper.

The governing body asked the LDA director general to constitute a formal finance committee and prepare budget afresh. The members also took exception to LDA’s proposal to increase water tariff for domestic consumers at the rate of 47 per cent or 167 per cent and said it’s an insane proposal with political connotations for the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government.

Sources said the LDA had proposed that the water tariff increased at the uniform rate of 47 per cent would help the authority pay Wapda bills, while the 167 per cent increase in tariff would help it not only pay electricity charges but also save all the subsidies being offered to domestic consumers.

The governing body members also reprimanded the authority’s water tariff proposals, saying how such an increase could be levied across the board. Lamenting that there was no homework done before putting up the proposal, it suggested that the LDA should categorise lifeline consumers as well as properties of different sizes and locations and recommend tariff increase on a rational basis.

The chief minister and other members also said such an increase in water tariff for domestic consumers would create political hue and cry at a time when the PTI government was completing its first 100 days.

The governing body approved LDA’s recommendations based on Supreme Court and other courts’ decisions as well as some certain essential items including payments for the ongoing development projects. It also approved the LDA’s proposal to receive Re1 per liter from the companies selling bottled water.

Speaking to the governing body members, the chief minister directed that the LDA should constitute legal, financial and human resource committees. He directed that the authority should set up facilitation centres in Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura and Kasur to serve the masses.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018