PESHAWAR: Because of non-provision of funds, the Local Government Department has asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to pay arrears of the Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs) to resolve their financial crisis.
Sources stated that the LG department will raise the issue of more than Rs30 billion of arrears of TMAs and Local Bodies’ rights with the provincial government.
According to sources in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Department, the process of preparing a complete case of non-payment of funds allocated for local bodies in budgets of the past two years has been started. According to an estimate, the finance department had allocated more than Rs30 billion to TMAs in the past two years but no fund was paid as a result most of the TMAs are facing financial difficulties.
Sources said that a case will be forwarded to the provincial government for the provision of six months’ development fund, approved grant for financially weak TMAs and property tax like the rest of last year.
According to the sources, in this regard, a summary will be sent to Chief Minister Mahmood Khan with a request ensure the release of money of the local bodies so that all the local bodies including TMAs could made financially stable.
During the last three years, all financially independent and stable TMAs have suffered losses and most of the TMAs cannot pay salaries to their employees.
