RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has decided to not renew the contracts of 300 employees in order to manage its finances and keep paying for development and non-development expenses.

The civic body had initially laid off 60 employees from various sections and all its branches have now been asked to prepare a list of contractual employees so their services can be terminated.

A senior RCB official told Dawn many recruitments were made in the civic agency in the previous years on the recommendations of political and influential people so that the number of people worl(ing in the RCB had increased to 3,100.

He said the annual budget for the civic body had increased by many times and that the Military Lands and Cantonments had directed the RCB to remove unnecessary staff which was overburdening it.

The official added that the annual budget for the RCB had increased from Rs1.18 billion to Rs2.741 bn during the last five years, a major portion of which is spent paying staff salaries.

Due to criticism from traders, he said, the RCB had only increased property tax on commercial units by 30pc and has not imposed new taxes. However, he said, it will be difficult for the civic body to recover tax from commercial plazas and shopping malls in the main commercial areas.

The official added that the RCB is yet to recover Rs1 bn in outstanding taxes from commercial properties in Saddar for the last 17 years, the cases for which are pending in courts.

`There is also pressure from elected members for the allocation of funds for development for which the civic body does not have funds,` he said.

Talking to Dawn, RCB Cantonment Executive Officer Dr Saima Shah said this was a difficult decision but the RCB was not left with any other choice.

`Two years ago, we had 3,100 employees in the civic body which were reduced to 2,880 and we will further reduce this number to 2,600 or 2,500 in the coming days, she said.

Dr Shah said many people recruited as naib qasids and sanitary workers did not perform their duties.

`For example, we did not need 100 naib qasids or extra staff in this head so why should we spend money on those doing nothing,` she said, adding that the RCB will only be accommodating those who do their jobs.

`We are working on improving income generation and are launching a drive for improving tax collection in order that the civic facilities provided to residents are improved,` she said.

According to Dr Shah, the number of property tax defaulters is very high and the dues to be recovered from them is more than Rs600 million. She said this was in the areas where residents claim they are in the limits of the Capital Development Authority.

She said residents in many areas adjacent to Islamabad manage to avoid paying taxes with this excuse even though they are in RCB limits as verified by the Survey of Pakistan.

`People in these areas opposed the census but the army managed to make things clear and included these areas in the Rawalpindi district and not Islamabad, according to the maps provide d by the Survey of Pakistan, she said.