CDA proposes a self sustaining budget

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Friday proposed Rs 33,984.33 million budget for the financial year 2013-14 mostly based on self financing activities like auctioning of plots.
The CDA Board approved the budget at a meeting chaired by the CDA Chairman Nadeem Hassan Asif which was presented by CDA member Finance Azher Ali Chaudhary.
CDA has set a target of Rs 33,756.36 million on account of revenues from its resources for the fiscal year 2013-14 including Rs 5,682.10 million from revenue accounts and Rs 27,174.52 million in terms of self-financing activities. A cut of 20 percent has also been imposed on non-development expenditure of the office of CDA chairman and members.
The budget for the financial year 2013-14 is 20 percent higher than the current budget for 2012-13. According to details total receipts are estimated at Rs 37,389.25 million, which are 244 percent higher than the receipts of current financial year 2012-13.
The development expenditure is estimated at Rs 20,905.66 million, which is 62 percent of the total budget estimates for the year 2013-14, whereas in current financial year only 35 percent of budget was spent on development activities.
The non-development expenses for the fiscal year 2013-14 are estimated to be Rs.13,078.67 million which is 38 percent of the total budget as opposed to 65 percent in the current budget 2013-14. Grant of Rs.3,632.89 million by the government would include Rs.1,777.96 million on the account of PSDP and Rs.1,854.93 million maintenance grant for the fiscal year 2013-14.
On the directions of the chairman various revenue generation measures have been adopted, including imposition and implementation of CDA by-laws on housing societies, recovery on account of transfer fee from high-rise and multi-story buildings and to rent out heavy machinery of MPO Directorate.
Besides, CDA will strictly follow the austerity measures taken by the Federal Government. CDA Board approved right-sizing of human resource, ban on purchase of furniture, rationalisation of CDA vehicles use and economic electricity and fuel consumption. The authority will save Rs 1.9 billion under the new austerity measures.
A sum of Rs.1.26 billion in the budget has been reserved to meet expected raise in pay and allowance, pension and utility charges. A revolving fund for grant of house building and other advances is proposed to be created. A sum of Rs.50 million is proposed as seed money for creating the revolving fund that will be augmented by recovery of advances.
Estimated expenditures on PSDP schemes is Rs. 177.961 million which includes Rs.334.373 million for Kashmir Highway Project, Rs.780 million for construction of additional family suites, Rs.416.908 million for construction of Chirah Dam and Rs.100 million for construction of additional block for senate and national assembly secretariat.
In financial year 2013-14 an amount of Rs.14,646.91 million has been allocated out of CDA sources for on-going works whereas a sum of Rs.4,480.79 million has been allocated for the new developmental projects.
Another sum of Rs.7 billion has been allocated by CDA for four priority projects during the financial year 2013-14 which are development of Sector I-15, C-15 and C-16, acquisition of land in Sector H-16 and compensation of acquired land in Mauza Sheikhpur, Jhangi Syedian, Badhana Kalan, Mauaz Noon and first phase of conversion of street lights to solar energy.