June 24, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 23,1424

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QUETTA, June 23: The Provincial Assembly on Monday passed Balochistan’s supplementary Budget for 2002-03 amounting to Rs4.97 billion while the opposition boycotted the assembly’s proceedings by staging a walkout.

Speaker Jamal Shah presided over the session.

Provincial Finance Minister Syed Ehsan Shah presented 20 demands for supplementary grants while the opposition’s absence hindered presentation of 15 cut motions, forwarded by the opposition.

Eighteen of the 20 demands for supplementary grants amounting to Rs3.28 billion pertained to the current non-development expenditures while two demands amounting to Rs1.7 billion were approved for development expenditures.

The highest amount — Rs1.45 billion — was sanctioned for the irrigation department while another Rs1.11 billion were included for providing subsidy on wheat and electricity to the growers.

Rs1.1 billion had been approved for providing community services during the current financial year.

Finance Minister Ehsan Shah said that the government would consider suggestions presented during the budget debate, adding that maximum number of positive suggestions would be included in the budget document.

Earlier, Sher Zaman Rind of the National Alliance blamed the government for not including water supply schemes suggested by him in the next year’s PSDP, saying that the people were facing an acute water shortage there.

Shahida Rauf of the Muttahida Majlis Amal termed the budget pro-poor, saying that no new tax had been imposed in the next year’s budget, adding that the government had allocated sufficient funds for the development of agriculture, roads and communication sectors.

A minority member of the treasury benches, Ambrose John Francis, said that the government should evolve a policy for the resolving the problems faced by the minorities living in the province.

The Provincial Minister for local Bodies and Information, Hafiz Hussain Shoradi criticized the government for ignoring the religious schools, saying that the government should provide more funds in this regard.

walkout: Opposition members in the Balochistan Assembly staged a walkout on the second consecutive day, which made the task of the treasury benches easier as they got passed the supplementary grants for the year 2002-03 without any hindrance, our correspondent adds.

Opposition groups Jamhoori Watan Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Balochistan National Movement, Balochistan National Party-(Mengal) and PPP castigated the government for what they called “misleading the people” through presenting “bogus figures” in the budget.

Kachkol Ali Baloch, Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani and Abdur Rahim Ziaratwal led the protest, as they boycotted the house proceedings soon after the recitation from the Holy Quran, alleging that the budget copies delivered this morning was a “mischievous act” to deprive the opposition of an opportunity to play its role.

The opposition representatives told reporters afterwards that the coalition government did not have the required resources to implement the budget. They maintained that the government had only half a billion rupees for being used on the uplift projects.

They claimed that the provincial government made funds allocation to carry out its political agenda.

When asked whether Monday’s boycott was for the entire ongoing session, Kachkol Ali said a meeting on Tuesday will decide about the future course of action. He emphasized that the government must act wisely to run the assembly in a democratic way.

Although Home Minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri asked the angry members to present their point of view on the floor of the house so that their proposals could be accommodated, the opposition members remained unmoved.

Speaker Jamal Khan Kakar, after approval of supplementary grants by the house, asked Senior Minister Maulana Wasay to form a committee to contact the opposition members to ensure their participation in the deliberations.

On this, Home Minister Sardar Zehri informed the house that he had held negotiations with them, but the opposition members said they would only hold talks with a committee which was headed by the chief minister.

The Speaker then directed the senior minister to contact Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousuf, and form the committee for a dialogue with the opposition.