KARACHI, Jun 10 (APP): The budget estimates for 2023-24 for Grants to Local Bodies have been proposed to be Rs88.00 billion.
Sindh Chief Minister in his budget speech said, ‘We are actively supporting all the local councils in Sindh in order to ensure better services delivery.
The Sindh government has allocated funds of Rs90.0 billion for local bodies in the province during FY 2022-23 which includes the OZT as well as Grant-in-aid to local councils.
The government has allowed an enhancement of @15 per cent on basic pay and 5 per cent for pensioners.
Besides, OZT’s share of Municipal Committees and Town Committees has been enhanced by Rs1.2 million per annum.
He said that the Grant-in-Aid for Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Sukkur Municipal Corporation, and Larkana Municipal Corporation has been increased from Rs30.00 million to Rs45.00 million.
The Special Grant-in-Aid for KMC (Karachi Metropolitan Corporation) has been enhanced from Rs600.00 million to Rs650.00 million.
For better service delivery in the water supply and drainage sector, the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of Urban Water and Drainage schemes has been shifted from the Public Health Engineering Department to the Local Councils.
Furthermore, the government of Sindh has released funds of Rs1.12 billion as a special one-time Grant-in-Aid to the KMC during the financial year 2022-23. Besides, a provision of Rs420.0 million has been kept for years 2023-24 to the settlement of claims of districts regarding repayment of Sugar Cane Cess.