The Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday questioned why the local government bodies have failed to maintain their financial discipline and keep requesting the provincial government for grant-in-aid to pay their pensions.
The chief minister said that the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), local bodies and market committees were autonomous bodies and they have their established system to pay their salaries, gratuity and pension to their retiring or retired employees from their resources.
The Sindh CM made these remarks after the officials of the local government department requested the Sindh cabinet to approve a loan of Rs 844.159 million to clear outstanding dues of Karachi Development Authority (KDA) which they pledged to pay back after the auction of KDA plots.
The chief minister inquired the officials about the pension fund and how they have invested and utilized it.
The cabinet keeping in view the questions raised by the chief minister constituted a committee under Minister Local Government Syed Nasir Shah.
The committee is tasked to examine the pension funds of KDA, KMC, DMCs, other local bodies, market committee and such other organizations, and investigate how they have invested it and why they have bogged down to such a serious financial crisis and report to the cabinet.
The organizations which were overstaffed would also be identified and a proposal for developing a `surplus pool’ would also be submitted so that they could be absorbed somewhere else.
The Sindh Cabinet in November 2019 had approved the establishment of Special Courts under Sindh Building Control Ordinance (SBCO-1979) at divisional headquarters.
The cabinet, with the concurrence of Chief Justice Sindh High Court approved the proposal, that the sitting District & Session Judges of Districts in Karachi Division, in addition to their own work in their respective districts, would the powers to exercise the jurisdiction within their territorial limits, as vested with judges of Special Courts under Sindh Building Control Ordinance -1979.
The sitting District & Session Judges at Divisional headquarters of Hyderabad, Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad and Mirpurkhas Division, in addition to their own work, would exercise the jurisdiction within their limits as vested with judges of Special Courts under SBCO-1979. also
Meanwhile, the provincial cabinet, on the recommendation of the National Coordination Committee on Housing, Construction and Development to reduce registration fee on mortgage for low-cost housing projects approved reduction in mortgage fee. Under the approved proposal Mortgage on a project of under Rs 1 million would be Rs 1,500, mortgage of a project of Rs.1 million to Rs.5 million will be Rs.3000 and mortgage of a project over Rs.5 million will be Rs.10,000.
On the request of the Health department, the provincial cabinet also approved Rs.300 million Grant-in-Aid in favour of Aman Health care Services for a period of six month, January 2021 to June 2021 for continuation of operations of Sindh Rescue and Medical Services. The cabinet also directed the health department to get a new company registered so that funding issues could be resolved for good.
The provincial cabinet decided to allot 20 acres of land to Dawoodi Bohra Community for their graveyard near Gadap at a rate of Rs 7.5 million. The Bohra community had requested the chief minister that their most of the members have shifted towards Super Highway, therefore they may be given a piece of land for their graveyards. The revenue department found out a piece of 20 are at Deh Boil, taluka Gadap, Malir Karachi.
The price fixation committee fixed the market price of the land at Rs. 15 million per care. The cabinet, keeping in view the usage of the land, decided to allot the land at 50 percent of the market price. The chief minister said that other communities had also requested for land for their graveyards. He directed the Board of Revenue to find out similar lands for other communities so that they could be allotted at the earliest. The Sindh cabinet on the request of the army authorities excluded military land from Karachi Strategic Development Plan (KSDP) 2020. The military land excluded from the KSD includes 300 acres Race Course Ground, Saddar Cantt and 15 acres Military land adjacent to Capri Cinema.
