LARKANA, July 24: The Qambar-Shahdadkot district council passed the surplus budget for the fiscal year 2007-2008 amidst the boycott of the members of Awam Dost Panel (ADP) on Monday.

The ADP members pressed for granting time to study the budget document and opposed its passing in a hurry. As the convener Atta Hussain Junejo refused to give time to the protesting members of the ADP, they, in the lead of Mohammad Punhal Soomro, staged a walk out.

Later the budget was passed with the support of 32 members. District Nazim Nawab Shabir Ahmed Chandio said that total receipts for the year 2007-2008 stood at Rs1818.620516 million including Rs9.017 million of the surrendered development funds.

The one line budget, the district government received from Sindh government stood at Rs1735. 73 million which is backed by the opening budget balance of Rs60.652 million and Octroi and Zila Tax share of Rs22.239 million, he added.

He said that lion’s share of the budget would go to salaries which stands at Rs1194.93165 million while on development sector an amount of Rs276.907 million would be spent.

Giving the break-up of development allocations, he said that 80 per cent of the funds in this sector that comes at Rs221.526 million, would be spent on completing the on-going schemes while 20 per cent which stood at Rs55.381 million, were allocated for undertaking new schemes in the district.

He said that land for establishing district government secretariat has been obtained to house all the devolved departments and added 35 development schemes in building, education and road sectors were completed during the current financial year.

In the current financial year, 21 schemes in education sector would be completed for which an amount of Rs30.3 million had been allocated on urgent basis.

Under the Rural Package Programme, extra funds were obtained from the Sindh government during 2006-2007 and so far Rs97.617 had been released, he added.

Summarising the rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the flood-hit district, he said that 1200 to 1500 villages in the district had been affected during the current spell of flood and rain water.

He said that fresh estimates indicated that 400,000 to 500,000 acres of land including 50,000 to 70,000 acres of cultivated crop were affected and due to calamity 14,000 to 18,000 people were shifted to camps whereas the number of displaced persons at 1,50,000 to 2,00,000.

He said that 5000 to 8000 persons, whose villages were inundated, have taken shelter on roads and the bank of flood protective embankment and they were regularly being provided raw and cooked food.