Karachi: Opposition Leader in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Saifuddin Advocate, has criticised the proposed KMC budget for 2026-27, describing it as being based on unrealistic revenue estimates and expressing concern over both revenue generation and development spending.In a set of budget proposals submitted to the mayor, municipal commissioner and KMC financial adviser, Saifuddin Advocate urged the city administration to prepare the budget in line with actual income projections instead of inflating its overall size. He said empowering elected representatives, union committees and council standing committees could significantly improve revenue collection and strengthen oversight of development schemes.The opposition leader also voiced concern over the low utilisation of last year's development budget. He pointed out that although Rs7.4 billion had been allocated for CLICK projects, only Rs3.57bn was spent. Similarly, nearly half of the Rs9bn earmarked under the District Annual Development P rogramme remained unutilised.Saifuddin Advocate said the previous fiscal year's budget stood at approximately Rs55.5bn, while the proposed budget for 2026-27 has been increased to around Rs60bn despite a reduction of nearly Rs7bn in CLICK-related allocations. He argued that the figures suggested an attempt to artificially inflate the budget size.He demanded that all KMC development projects be monitored by the relevant union committees and that revenue generated through the Municipal Utility Charges and Tax (MUCT) and marriage hall fees be spent in consultation with local elected bodies, in line with commitments previously made by the mayor.Stating that the current council was likely entering its final year, he said roads, sewerage lines and other civic infrastructure remained in poor condition across most union committees. He proposed a special package of Rs100 million for each union committee, with spending decisions to be made in consultation with local representatives.Under the proposal, Rs50m wou ld be allocated by the KMC and another Rs50m secured through the Sindh government.Saifuddin Advocate further recommended the formation of oversight committees comprising representatives of all parliamentary groups in the council for major city projects. Such committees, he said, would help ensure transparency, quality control, timely completion of schemes and curb corruption.He also suggested placing graveyards under the administrative control of relevant union committees, with revenue to be shared equally between the KMC and local bodies. In addition, he called for council committees to be granted oversight and decision-making powers in revenue-generating departments, including advertisements and land management, with 25 per cent of collected revenue allocated to union committees to improve local accountability and collections.The opposition leader stressed that development schemes should be planned and implemented in consultation with union committees to ensure equitable distribution of projects acros s Karachi.He also called for complete details of all tenders, including project locations and costs, to be published on the KMC website and displayed at project sites to promote transparency.Questioning the revenue projections in the proposed budget, Saifuddin noted that last year's expected income from Octroi and Zila Tax (OZT), grant-in-aid and Sindh government transfers had been estimated at Rs28bn, but actual receipts amounted to only Rs22bn. Despite this, the new budget projects Rs38bn under the same heads without providing a clear justification.He also criticised the inclusion of Rs850m in expected recoveries from K-Electric dues, pointing out that no such recoveries had been realised during the past three years. Similarly, he said KMC's own-source revenue had been projected at Rs12bn despite actual collections of only Rs5.7bn in the previous year, undermining claims of financial self-sufficiency.Saifuddin observed that no revenue had been received last year from betterment charges payable by th e Sindh Building Control Authority or from toll tax collected through the excise department. He added that advertisement revenue fell far short of expectations, with only Rs150m collected against a target of Rs350m, despite extensive advertising installations across the city. He estimated that annual earnings from advertisements should range between Rs700m and Rs800m.He further pointed out that only Rs250m had been received from the sale of a property against an expected Rs1.4bn.Concluding his assessment, Saifuddin said revenue collection remained weak across almost all departments and that the failure of the Sindh government to provide adequate funds, coupled with ineffective utilisation of available resources, had worsened Karachi's civic problems. He also expressed concern that employees had not received their outstanding dues despite a Rs2.7bn bailout package provided by the provincial government for that purpose.