KMC approves Rs60 billion budget after acrimonious council session

KARACHI: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation approved a Rs60 billion budget for the 2026-27 financial year on Sunday after a tense City Council session marked by sharp exchanges between the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and opposition members over the city’s finances, governance and development priorities.

The budget was passed by a majority vote following hours of debate. Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab, presenting the third budget of his tenure, described the financial plan as a framework for continuing development and said it had been prepared with emphasis on infrastructure, municipal services and employee welfare despite financial and administrative difficulties inherited from earlier administrations.

Addressing the council, Wahab said the administration had sought to align the budget with Karachi’s requirements while prioritising civic services and infrastructure improvement.

He also said PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had placed Karachi’s development at the centre of efforts aimed at turning the city into an international city.

Projects and reforms highlighted by mayor

Defending his administration’s performance, the mayor listed schemes completed during the outgoing fiscal year, including the reconstruction of Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Jinnah Bridge, Khalid Bin Waleed Road and the Azim Pura Flyover. He also referred to road repairs, sewerage works and pavement upgrades carried out in different parts of the city.

Wahab announced a set of administrative reforms for the coming year, including GIS mapping of all KMC properties, a fully digital payment mechanism through e-transfers, pension cards for retired employees and the issuance of municipal bonds. He said KMC had thereby become the first municipal authority in Pakistan to formally approve that financing instrument.

He further said the civic body had moved salaries and pensions to the SAP digital system, extended health insurance to about 11,500 employees and ensured that monthly salaries are paid before the first day of each month for the first time in nearly 25 years. He also highlighted restoration work on heritage buildings, expansion of parks and sports facilities, improvements in public hospitals, solarisation of street lights and environmental initiatives such as urban forests and mangrove plantations.

Referring to the administration’s record, Wahab said development activity carried out by KMC had improved civic services while also protecting Karachi’s historical heritage.

Opposition terms plan inadequate

After the budget was approved, Opposition Leader Saifuddin Advocate strongly criticised the financial plan, calling it Karachi’s worst budget and arguing that the allocation was far below the city’s actual requirements.

He said a city that contributes the largest share of the country’s tax revenue could not be managed on such a limited allocation, and maintained that Karachi required at least Rs300 billion.

Saifuddin questioned how substantial development could be achieved when KMC’s own projected revenue was only Rs6.5 billion. He accused the Sindh government of keeping control of Karachi’s major institutions and financial resources, and claimed the city had been denied the funds needed to address worsening infrastructure.

The opposition leader also alleged that opposition members were not allowed to fully debate the budget during the session and said the proceedings had been bulldozed. He further asked why KMC had not recovered Rs850 million in outstanding dues from K-Electric, described the budget as anti-Karachi and said it did little to tackle the city’s longstanding civic problems.

Despite the heated proceedings, the council approved the budget through a majority vote. The opposition announced that after the budget session it would again seek to move a no-confidence motion against Mayor Wahab once it had secured the required numbers, indicating that the dispute over Karachi’s finances and governance is set to continue.