KARACHI, June 29: Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, stressing that harmony among all provinces was the need of the hour, said that conferences on inter-provincial coordination would help the provinces understand each other’s problems.
He was talking to the delegates of the Inter-provincial Coordination Conference at a reception hosted in their honour by him at the CM’s House here on Thursday.
Federal Minister Salim Saifullah Khan led the delegates.
Dr Arbab told the delegates that the Sindh government had carried out record development works over the past two years whereas the size of development outlay for the next fiscal was Rs50 billion.
“We will be spending Rs12.7 billion on education during the new fiscal as we attach top priority to this sector,” the chief minister stated.
Recalling that the past governments of Sindh used to depend on overdraft, he pointed out: “My government has not only repaid all the federal loans but has presented a surplus budget of Rs193 billion.”
In the past the development projects faced delays due to delayed release of funds but the present government had brought this wrong tradition to an end with the result that all development schemes in the province were being completed within the stipulated time, he claimed.
The chief minister said that his government had resolved to alleviate poverty and strive for people’s welfare.
Almighty Allah has blessed Sindh with immense natural resources. It is this province that meets 70 per cent requirement of the country in oil and coal sector. Following President Musharraf’s directives, we have laid a network of 7,000-km roads and launched various schemes under the special development packages in backward areas. Being the largest city of this country, Karachi will get Rs8.15 billion in this regard.
About agriculture sector, the chief minister told the delegates that the provincial government had made 103 per cent increases in the allocation for this sector while 33,000 watercourses were being lined with the assistance of the World Bank. This project costs around Rs25 billion. The target of lining watercourses during the year 2006-07 has been fixed at 4,500.
The lining of watercourses will help save about 7.2 million acre feet water that otherwise goes waste.
Dr Arbab said that on the directive of President Musharraf, the provincial government had planned to bring about a ‘white revolution’ by setting up ‘dairy villages’ in all districts.
Joint Secretary of the Cabinet Division (IPC Wing) Islamabad Ms Shama Khalid, Balochistan Minister for S&GA Abdul Rahman Khan Jamali, Balochistan Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination Sher Jan Baloch, Punjab Minister for Works & Services Chaudhry Zaheeruddin and Punjab Home Secretary Khusro Pervez were among the delegates.
Sindh Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination Dr Sohrab Sarki, Sindh Secretary IPC Aftab Ahmed Memon and Senator Ghaffar Qureshi were present on the occasion.
Earlier, on Wednesday evening, Federal Minister Salim Saifullah Khan and other delegates had held a meeting with Sindh Chief Secretary Fazlur Rehman in his office.—PPI
