KARACHI: The provincial assembly of Sindh on Monday took a lead in initiating a discussion on pre-budget proposals for the provincial budget 2015-16 and on financial reports about nine-month performance of the government.

Included in the rules of procedure of the assembly in 2013, the Rule 144 calls for a general discussion in the house on the release and utilization of budget on a quarterly basis. As the previous two quarters reports could not be taken up for discussion, they were taken up along with the third quarter report on Monday.

Twelve lawmakers across the floor — four from the ruling party and eight from the opposition — took part in the discussion during the proceedings which continued from 11.20am to 2.10pm when the house was adjourned till Tuesday.

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Almost all the lawmakers expressed their concern over not fully utilising the released money though the allocated fund was partly released. The food department drew criticism from the legislators who called for a complete audit of the food department for taking billion of rupees loans for wheat procurement and paying heavy interest to banks.Before initiating the discussion, Sindh Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah informed the house that the government had evolved a new development strategy for the new financial year (2015-16) and assured lawmakers to suggest workable schemes for their inclusion in the budget.

The speeches of only two lawmakers Syed Sardar Ahmad of the MQM and Mehtab Akbar Rashdi of the PML-F manifested their home work with critical appreciation of the reports. They quoted figures of allocation, the released amount and expenses, shortcomings of the government and highlighted the need for capacity building so that allocated funds could be fully utilised on implementing development schemes.

He said the PPP government was the first one that set the tradition of discussion on the financial performance of the government. He said workable suggestions advanced during the discussion would be incorporated in the budget.

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition Khwaja Izharul Hassan said there was no assurance from the government that even 10 per cent of the suggestions from the opposition benches would be made part of the budget. Yet his party would present a shadow budget to the government in writing just as the MQM did in past years, he added. The MQM leader also pointed out discrepancies in figures quoted in the reports and those indicated by AG Sindh civil accounts. He said the government receipts mentioned Rs388 billion, while the AG accounts showed Rs363 billion, indicating a difference of Rs25 billion. Similarly, he said, of the Rs519 billion released, only Rs343 billion was spent, indicating a difference of Rs176 billion.

Mr Hassan expressed the hope that the finance minister would give reasons for not including their suggestions if they were not made part of the budget .

MQM parliamentary leader Syed Sardar Ahmad, however, gave credit to the PPP government for presenting the quarterly reports and holding discussion on pre-budget proposals in the assembly.

He said that proposals for the next budget should have been discussed in February and March according to the Rule 143 of the rules of procedures of the assembly, as 80 per cent of the budget schemes would have already been finalised.

Mr Ahmed said Sindh received only Rs283 billion of its share of Rs355 billion from the federal government during the past nine months. He said the provincial government should press the centre to release the remaining Rs72 billion.

He asked the finance minister to explain why the government could not collect the target revenue of Rs93 billion.

In the current revenue expenditure, he said, out of the released amount of Rs361 billion, only Rs264 billion was spent, showing a difference of Rs97 billion.

Similarly, he said, only Rs89 billion was released out of the allocated budget of Rs168 billion in the annual development programme, while only Rs52 billion of the released fund was used. He said there was Rs37 billion that could not be utilised despite being released.

Mr Ahmed also expressed serious concern over the huge spending of Rs48 billion on loan write-off, subsidy and grants during the past nine months. He said of this amount, Rs38 billion was spent by the finance department only. The finance minister ought to check the spending, he said.

Referring to the Karachi development budget, he said that only Rs1.1 billion was released out of the Rs6.5 billion development budget. He said that of the Rs1.1 billion, half of the money was spent on Lyari and the other half on rest of the city development.

He said funds allocated for mega projects of Karachi such as K-4 and S-3, Lyari Expressway, expansion of pumping stations were not enough. If the Dhabeji pumping station had been expanded, Karachiites would not have been facing acute water shortage these days, he added.

Also, Mr Ahmed said the food department had taken a total of Rs83 billion loan from banks for purchase of wheat and had to pay billion of rupees in interest. This year Rs23 billion loan was taken, he said, suggesting the government to control the situation as the food department was also being provided Rs3 billion subsidy. He said it was a matter of concern that the department even then failed to carry out its responsibility to arrange bardana for farmers.PPP lawmaker Mohammad Nawaz Chandio called for the allocation of fund in the next year budget to complete the schemes in Badin district.She also questioned the expenditures by different other departments as well as the Rs2.1 billion expenditure by the Sindh Investment Board was a questionable.

PPP lawmaker Mir Hayat Talpur said the pace of work on development schemes remained slow due to which the fund released from the budget had not been fully utilized. He said the condition of roads in many districts, including Badin, was extremely bad for which more fund be allocated.

PML-N lawmaker Haji Shafi Jamote said there was acute water shortage problem in Karachi because of flaws in the water distribution system. He said that there were many roads even in Karachi which called for repair and reconstruction.

PML-F lawmaker Saeed Khan Nizamani said despite spending billion of rupees on development schemes in Sindh, there was no manifestation of improvement anywhere. He said members of the assembly belonging to the opposition were not given development fund.

MQM lawmaker Syed Khalid Ahmad said the complaint against the federal government for not giving Sindh its due share was justified but the provincial government performance regarding the collection of taxes, too, was not enviable.

He said Rs21 billion was needed for four water projects of Karachi. While they were including in the ADP, no fund had been released, he added.

PML-F lawmaker Mehtab Akbar Rashdi expressed her concern over the release of only 67 per cent fund and utilization of only 37pc of the released fund during the past nine months. If the pace of work would remain the same, how Sindh could make any progress, she remarked.

Referring to the education sector, she said that only half of the Rs10.7 billion education fund was released, while only Rs2.8 billion was spent.

PPP lawmaker Sardar Ahmad Ali Pitafi said that the fund allocated for Ghotki’s development was not released. Whatever little amount had been released was misappropriated, he added.

MQM lawmaker Raana Ansar said the government did not release fund for any approved scheme of Hyderabad.

PTI lawmaker Syed Hafeezuddin said that Sindh bank should provide interest-free loans to youths and the tax rate on agriculture income be revised upwards.

Saleem Rajput of the MQM said there were a lot of problems in Sukkur that called for due attention. Sukkur Municipal Employees be paid their salaries and fund be released for Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical College and other schemes, he demanded.

PPP lawmaker Dr Sohrab Sarki said that Sindh economy was based on the agriculture. For this reason, he said, more funds be allocated for rehabilitation and improvement of the irrigation system.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2015

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