Chitral: The District Council presented a budget of Rs 3,553 million, highlighting several issues with fund allocations.
Officials noted that, compared to the grants approved by the provincial government, development funds were reduced from Rs 230 million to Rs 160 million, which is deeply concerning. Similarly, funds for recurring expenditures were also lower than in previous years.
It was mentioned that in the financial year 2015–16, due to a 50% non-payment by the provincial government for ADP schemes, 50% of the 2016–17 ADP funds were spent on those schemes. Approval for funds for the identified schemes will be sought again.
During the previous financial year, Rs 18.5 million had been set aside for repairing roads, buildings, and water supply systems affected by natural disasters, but the funds could not be used due to unavoidable reasons. These will be released to the relevant departments in the current year.
The District Nazim presented a revised budget for 2016–17, stating that the provincial government did not release funds according to the district’s needs. They requested Rs 4.85 crore but only Rs 5.71 million was released. Last year, Rs 58.109 million had been promised, but only Rs 14.412 million was provided, delaying work on the DHQ Hospital’s electricity line and water supply scheme.
The District Nazim criticized the current system, saying it makes life difficult for local representatives, especially District Council members. During the discussion, Maulana Mahmoodul Hassan said democratic governments do not respect local representatives, and the current provincial government repeatedly fails to fulfill budget promises. He warned that they may submit a collective resignation to highlight the government’s double standards.
The meeting emphasized activating the Accounts Committee and reviewing previous budget expenditures. The council also criticized the decision to return C&W and Public Health departments to provincial control and discussed taking legal action against discriminatory development budgets for Chitral.
Members present included Rahmat Ghazi, Abdul Latif, Fida Mustafa Advocate, Sher Muhammad, Ghulam Mustafa, Maulana Mahmoodul Hassan, Rahmat Elahi, and Muhammad Hussain. The convener postponed the meeting until Wednesday.