KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Tuesday approved Rs156 billion supplementary budget, accepting all 84 demands for grants to account for additional expenditure by provincial departments beyond their initial allocations for the outgoing financial year 2024-25.

The opposition criticised the provincial government for budget overruns, but the additional expenditure this year was actually less than the Rs213 billion spent in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

All 756 cut motions of the opposition seeking reduction in the extra spending by the provincial departments were rejected with the majority vote.

The opposition members who moved the cut motions were of the view that the provincial government should have adopted austerity measures.

However, opposing each and every cut motion, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah justified the extra spending saying that the additional funds were needed due to unforeseen circumstances, increased costs and to meet specific goals.

Opposition’s all 756 cut motions rejected

The chief minister pointed out that no motion had been presented to cut the expenses of the Sindh Assembly Speaker and the Governor, but there were motions to cut the expenses of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

The major extra spending in the supplementary budget pertained to the Services General Administration and Coordination Department and Chief Minister Secretariat/House, Governor House and Governor’s Secretariat and Sindh Assembly.

Most of the cut motions, many of them identical ones, were moved by the members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, seeking reduction in CM House extra expenditures. They, however, did not move any cut motion on the extra spending by Governor Secretariat/House.

Opposition Leader Ali Khurshidi said that the opposition members had prepared these cut motions with great effort, each motion should be considered separately.

However, Speaker Syed Awais Qadir Shah clubbed most of the identical cut motions, which were voted and rejected in the house with majority votes.

While presenting supplementary demands, the chief minister said that this year the charged expenses of courts and judges were over Rs5 billion, the Sindh Assembly over Rs3 billion and the Governor House were over Rs1 billion.

He said that there were expenses of more than Rs59 billion in terms of loans.

The chief minister said that the consumption of petrol had not increased, but the expenses had increased due to the increase in the price of petrol.

The house was adjourned to Wednesday when the provincial budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year and the Sindh Finance Bill would be presented for approval by the house.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2025