KARACHI, June 19: The Sindh government has allocated more than Rs47 million in the new budget for the continuation of two ongoing schemes whereas no scheme has been proposed to be launched during the fiscal 2006-2007.

The budget documents reveal that for one of the two ongoing schemes, the Population Welfare Programme, a sum of Rs37 million has been allocated as against its total estimated cost of Rs162 million. The government expects that by the end of June 2006, more than Rs81 million would have been spent and almost 50 per cent of the scheme would be completed. It also expects 73 per cent completion of the scheme by the end of June 2007.

The other ongoing scheme for which Rs10 million has been allocated in the new budget pertains to the construction of a provincial headquarter secretariat office at Sector 20 B, Corridor Area, Scheme 33, Super Highway. Though the scheme is put under the category of ‘ongoing’, it has not received any funding in the past. By the end of June 2007, 23 per cent of work on the scheme is supposed to be completed.

While the government claims that it fully realises the threat from population explosion and is making efforts in this regard, it has decided not to launch any new scheme to prove its claim although the country’s annual population growth rate continues to be the among the highest in the region.