June 19, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 14, 1429

HYDERABAD, June 18: The Matiari Taluka Council has approved a surplus budget of Rs116.298 million for fiscal 2008-09. No new taxes have been levied in the document. The document earmarks Rs116,298,225 million in income against the expenses of Rs115,800,000 and a surplus amount of Rs500,000. The budget was presented on Tuesday by Taluka Nazim Syed Azhar Ali Shah Jamote.

An amount of Rs67.535 million has been earmarked for development works and Rs48.263 million as non-development expenditure.

The government will provide major chunk of Rs77.600 million in annual financial assistance, Rs1.210 million to be recovered from taxes, and Rs2.161 million from fee. The budget further earmarks Rs22.500 million for development schemes and Rs4.650 million for the ongoing ones.

An amount of Rs9.771 million has been granted towards urgent development works, Rs3.100 million for construction of a new shopping centre, and Rs4 million for the Citizen Community Board.

Under non-development expenditure Rs29.900 million has been allocated for staff salaries, Rs4.730 million towards electricity bills, and Rs6.715 million for office expenses.

The House approved the budget unanimously while Taluka Nazim Azhar Hussain Shah termed it a people-friendly document without any new taxes. The tens of millions of rupees assigned for development works will change the façade of town, he said. The session was presided over by Convener Taluka Council Haji Pervez Ali.

SINDH BUDGET: The Sindh budget is a conventional document prepared by the bureaucracy without providing relief to common man, said Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party Chairman Dr Qadir Magsi in his budgetary comments.

In a statement faxed to Dawn, he said it was an irony that the province contributing 70 per cent of the total revenue to national exchequer and rich in natural resources should have a deficit budget. He said like previous year, nothing has been mentioned regarding the National Finance Commission Award.

People of Sindh will not prosper unless unjustified resource distribution is done away with, Indus water theft stopped, agriculture sector given priority, and 60 per cent of the budget spent on development and productive schemes, said the STPP chief.

The fate of 52 per cent of people living under poverty line will not be changed he said while welcoming Shaheed Benazir Youth Development Programme, People’s Housing Scheme, 200,000 acres for landless peasants, and health insurance policy for the poor.

He criticised the Sindh government for ignoring important issues while the same have been provided relief by the Punjab. It has announced a subsidy of Rs13 billion on food items and Rs1 billion under the Green Tractor Scheme for purchase of 100,000 tractors and earmarked Rs2 billion for tube-wells. Magsi deplored the Sindh government of not giving importance to health and education sectors.

HUNGER STRIKE: Mannu Bheel, a peasant whose nine family members had been kidnapped by a feudal lord of Sanghar district 10 years ago, continued token hunger strike for the 14th day on Wednesday outside the local press club.

He is protesting against an inordinate delay in the recovery of his family members and for the cancellation of bail of his alleged tormentor.

Mannu Bheel had earlier observed token hunger strike for 1,287 days but called it off when the then chief justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhry, took suo motu notice of the incident.