Popularly known as a moneyed civic agency, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is reportedly so strapped for funds that its high-ups have asked different directorates to avoid sending requisition of funds for new projects in the financial year 2011-2012.
“The CDA is likely to announce its budget next week with concocted figures as CDA has no funds. The authority has decided that it would not launch any new mega project because of financial crisis” an official source told Pakistan Today. He said that the CDA would only allocate funds for ongoing projects like construction of Kashmir Highway, Zero-Point Interchange and routine maintenance work.
The source said that the CDA’s finance wing has issued directives to the head of different wings that no new development project would be launched this year.
He added the CDA’s finance wing was also facing problem in budget making because of shortage of funds.
He said that the total budget of the CDA for the financial year 2010-2011 was 22.77 billion and out of that CDA allocated Rs 9 billion for non-development expenditures as compared to Rs 7.78 billion spent in the year 2009-10.
Source said that during the same period, the CDA allocated a total development budget of Rs 5.35 billion to Engineering Wing, Rs 2.55 billion to Estate Management Wing, Rs 1.32 billion to Planning and Designing Wing, Rs 1 billion for unforeseen expenditures, Rs 628 million for Environment Wing and Rs 608 million for Administration Wing. He said that the CDA was bound to halt ongoing development schemes in the city and shelve projects that were in yet the pipeline.
He said the CDA’s situation could be worsened if it failed to get a huge inflow of cash anytime soon.
He said that due to financial crises, the authority had failed to refund money to those who had been allotted flats in Sector I-15 but they wanted a refund.
“Half of the allottees have withdrawn their money during last two years and the remaining people also seek refunding, which itself is a challenge for the cash-strapped CDA”, he added.
