KARACHI: Opposition leader in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Saifuddin Advocate, has criticised the proposed KMC budget for 2026–27, terming it “unrealistic” and detached from actual revenue prospects.
He warned that inflated estimates and weak utilisation of funds could further aggravate Karachi’s civic problems.
In budget proposals submitted to the mayor, municipal commissioner and KMC financial adviser, Saifuddin urged the city administration to frame the fiscal plan strictly in line with realistic income projections rather than increasing its overall size on paper. He said greater empowerment of elected representatives, union committees and council standing committees could help improve revenue collection and oversight of development schemes.
He expressed serious concern over the low spending of last year’s development funds. Of the Rs7.4 billion allocated for CLICK projects, only Rs3.57 billion was spent, while nearly half of the Rs9bn set aside under the District Annual Development Programme remained unused.
The opposition leader noted that the previous fiscal year’s budget stood at around Rs55.5 billion, whereas the proposed outlay for 2026–27 has been increased to about Rs60 billion, despite a reduction of nearly Rs7 billion in CLICK-related allocations. He said this reflected an attempt to artificially inflate the budget size.
Saifuddin demanded that all KMC development projects should be monitored by the relevant union committees. He also called for revenue generated through Municipal Utility Charges and Tax (MUCT) and marriage hall fees to be spent in consultation with local elected bodies, as earlier promised by the mayor.
Pointing out that the council was likely entering its final year, he said roads, sewerage lines and other civic infrastructure were in poor condition across most union committees. He proposed a special development package of Rs100 million for each union committee, with Rs50 million to be provided by the KMC and another Rs50 million by the Sindh government, and spending decisions to be made with local representatives.
He further proposed the formation of cross-party oversight committees for major city projects, comprising representatives of all parliamentary groups in the council. Such committees, he said, would ensure transparency, quality control, timely completion of schemes and help curb corruption.
Saifuddin also suggested placing graveyards under the administrative control of relevant union committees, with revenue to be shared equally between the KMC and local bodies. He called for council committees to be given oversight and decision-making powers in revenue-generating departments such as advertisements and land management, with 25 percent of the collected revenue allocated to union committees to improve accountability and collections.
He stressed that development schemes should be planned and implemented in consultation with union committees to ensure fair distribution of projects across the city. He also demanded that complete details of all tenders, including project locations and costs, be published on the KMC website and displayed at project sites.
Questioning revenue projections, Saifuddin noted that last year’s expected income from Octroi and Zila Tax, grant-in-aid and Sindh government transfers was estimated at Rs28 billion, but actual receipts were only Rs22 billion. Despite this shortfall, the new budget projects Rs38 billion under the same heads without clear justification.
He criticised the inclusion of Rs850 million in expected recoveries from K-Electric dues, noting that no such recoveries had been made over the past three years. He also pointed out that KMC’s own-source revenue was projected at Rs12 billion, while actual collections in the previous year stood at only Rs5.7 billion.
Saifuddin said no revenue was received last year from betterment charges payable by the Sindh Building Control Authority or from toll tax collected through the excise department. Advertisement revenue also fell far short of targets, with only Rs150 million collected against an expected Rs350 million, despite widespread advertising across the city.
He estimated that annual advertisement income should be between Rs700 million and Rs800 million. He added that only Rs250 million was received from the sale of a property against an expected Rs1.4 billion.
Concluding, the opposition leader said revenue collection remained weak across almost all departments. He blamed inadequate funding by the Sindh government and poor utilisation of available resources for worsening civic conditions. He also expressed concern that KMC employees had not received outstanding dues despite a Rs2.7 billion provincial bailout package provided for this purpose.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026