KARACHI: After the withdrawal of the proposed stamp duty on small residential plots and sales tax on education and health services and the adoption of the Sindh Finance Bill, 2014 unanimously, the Sindh Assembly approved the over Rs686 billion provincial budget 2014-15, unveiled on June 13 by the chief minister.

Before the adoption of the budget, the house sanctioned 59 demands for grants of over Rs650.12 billion for the new financial year and 53 demands for grants of over Rs32.46 billion for the supplementary expenditure for the year ending on June 30. A total of 137 cut motions were rejected by voice vote.

After the budget was passed, on which general discussion continued for seven days in a comparatively congenial atmosphere, Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani read out the order of Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad that on the conclusion of the business the session stood adjourned sine die.

Earlier, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah thanked the opposition for the approval of the budget in a pleasant atmosphere and praised it for playing its democratic role gracefully.

Proposed stamp duty on small residential plots and sales tax on education & health services withdrawn

He also thanked the speaker for running the house proceedings throughout the budget session wisely besides making it possible to pass the new budget in the hall of the new assembly building. He also thanked the treasury benches for their full participation in the budget discussion.

Mr Durrani, who called the house in order at 10.45am on Wednesday, said: “We started the budget session in a historical house and today it was passed in the other august house of the Sindh Assembly building where the Pakistan Resolution was passed.” He said it was made possible due to the services of Benazir Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari for the stability of democracy in the country.

Leader of the Opposition Shaharyar Mahar said they exercised their democratic right by presenting suggestions and opposed where they considered it necessary and hoped that the budget allocations would be used judiciously and equal attention would be paid to execution of development schemes in all constituencies.

MQM deputy parliamentary party leader Khwaja Izharul Hasan said it augured well that the finance bill was passed unanimously and suggestions of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the opposition were accommodated by withdrawing the levy of certain taxes from the finance bill. He also stressed the need for making the role of sanding committees effective.

Charged expenditures and cut motions

During the discussion on the charged expenditures, members of the opposition called for bringing down the expenditures so that in future there would be no need for preparing deficit budgets.

Shaharyar Mahar said Rs4 million was allocated as expenditure for gifts of the CM House but Rs7.5 million was spent; a Rs20m worth Landcruiser was purchased, which luxury expenditures needed to be brought down..

Syed Sardar Ahmad said that for charged expenditure there was a list in the constitution and it could be spent after the approval of the assembly.

Mohammad Hussain of the MQM said in the budget the ratio of development and non-development budget in 2013-14 was 65 per cent and 35pc which was now changed to 80pc and 20pc.

PTI parliamentary party leader Samar Ali Khan called for austerity measures so that the funds saved could be used to implement development schemes to help the people.

Dr Seema Zia of the PTI said that if new furniture was not purchased for the Chief Minister House why so much funds were allocated and where they were spent and why new cars were purchased every year for the ministers and the chief minister.

Mr Mahar on his cut motion on the grant for demands for supplementary expenditure for 2013-14 said it was a violation of the rules that approval of the house was sought after the expenditure. He said the Sindh government could have saved the money by using the cars available with the government.

The chief minister said the government in its austerity derive had banned purchasing new four wheelers during the outgoing year except for a few cars for foreign dignitaries on their visit to Sindh.

Minister Dr Sikandar Mandhro said a helicopter was hired for the visit of the chief minister to Awaran, Balochistan and as such it was not an uncalled for expenditure.

PML-F parliamentary leader Nand Kumar was of the opinion that abnormal expenditures had been made on the creation of Korangi district.

Nusrat Sehar Abbasi of the PML said that although the ministers’ strength had come down after the 18th amendment, the expenditures of the CM Secretariat, which were already high, had further increased. The operational expenditures of the prisons were also on the higher side and millions of rupees were spent on the Sindh cultural festival and children had asked them if what was being projected was the culture of Sindh.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014