Rawalpindi:
The competent authority approved the Browalpindi Cantonment Board budget for the year 2025-26 with a drop in RS485.7 million, reducing the initial proposal of 7.436 billion rupees to a revised RS6.951 billion estimate.
The cuts were mainly carried out in allowances for various expenses and maintenance and repair work.
According to details, the board of directors of the canton of Rawalpindi had initially adopted the budget of 7.436 billion rupees at a meeting of the board of directors for the densely populated canton area of 10 paradise and submitted it to the director of military land and cantons, in the Rawalpindi region, for final approval.
The approved Budget Includes: RS3.208 Billion for employees and pensions (Approved Without Any Deductions), RS1.542 Billion for Miscellaneous Expensures (After A RS34 Million Cut), RS600 million for General Works (approved in full), RS385 million for maintenance and repair cut), for comparison, the authority had imposed RS800 million in Cuts in the previous 2024-25 Budget. According to the sources of the board of directors of cantonment, the board of directors obtained 86% performance compared to the budgetary objectives of last year.
Despite the new budget, residents continue to deal with serious problems in the canton area – especially in the densely populated back -end localities, which contrast strongly with well -developed front areas. Problems include broken roads and streets, lack of street lighting, poor sanitation, defective sanitation system, encroachments, unregulated commercial activity in residential areas and generalized illegal construction.
The most urgent concern remains the lack of access to drinking water. Due to the absence of an appropriate water supply network, many residents are forced to install private wells at their expense.
Adding to public frustration, the board of directors of the canton has now increased water supply costs and 100% to 200% sanitation taxes at the post-Budget board meeting.
To protest, elected members left the session and announced that they would contest the decision before the High Court of Lahore, Rawalpindi Banc.
RMC prioritizes uprising projects
Our correspondent
The Municipal Rawalpindi Corporation (RMC) approved an annual budget worth 8.80 billion rupees for the year 2025-2026, with an excess balance of 442.5 million rupees.
The administrator of the Municipal Corporation and engineer of the Commissioner of Rawalpindi, Aamir Khattak, sanctioned the budget after detailed discussions on the proposals presented by the chief director Imran Ali.
According to official budget figures, the total resources – including the end of last year, the opening balance for the new financial year and the planned income collections – amounted to 8.80 billion rupees.
This, 2.30 billion rupees were allocated to non-development expenses, including wages and pensions, with a special arrangement of 800 million rupees reserved exclusively for pension payments. The development budget was allocated to 6.04 billion rupees.
The main allowances under the development budget include 1.92 billion rupees for current development plans,
RS1.90 billion for new annual development programs (ADP), 2 billion rupees for carpet and infrastructure rehabilitation, RS176.1 million designated for sports and cultural activities.
During the current financial year, the Municipal Corporation plans to prioritize the completion of several current and new development plans. These include the carpet of the city roads, the construction and repair of streets, improvements in drainage and sanitation systems, the construction and maintenance of draws, the installation of lampposts and the establishment of an underground cable network in Raja Bazaar and the commercial market.
