KARACHI, June 23: The government was castigated for failing to provide relief to the common man and ensuring proper utilisation of funds for non-development expenditures.

These views were expressed in the afternoon session of Sindh assembly in which besides Mr Abdul Rauf Siddiqui, six members from each side took part in the general discussion on the provincial budget.

Ms Shazia Marri, Ms Kulsoom Nizamani, Ms Humera Alwani and Mr Anwar Mahar from the opposition came well-prepared. While, Mr Iqbal Qadri from the treasury side responded to the criticism of the opposition, saying most of the problems were the outcomes of ignoring merit in appointments by past governments.

He said those sitting in the opposition were criticising the budget for the sake of opposition, as under given resources, no better budget could be produced. He particularly referred to the funds allocated for education, health, irrigation and provision of employment for over 0.1 million people.

Syed Jalal Shah Jamote highlighted the funds for laying the network of communication in the province, particularly funds for construction of roads from villages to cities.

He said Rs5 million allocated to each MPA for development work was not sufficient, and should be raised to Rs10 million. Dr Bhag Chand called for setting up dialysis centres and coronary care units in every district hospital to facilitate people.

Mr Ehsan Ali Jatoi was critical of the irrigation department. He pointed out that agriculture sector was suffering due to non- release of funds on time. Citing an example, he said that remodelling work at Rice Canal could have been carried out during its eight-month closure period from October to May, but for want of funds, it could not, and started only last month.

Mr Munawwar Ali Abbasi said only 16 per cent population of the province was getting potable water supply, while others had to depend on underground water. He urged the government that 15 per cent salary increase benefit should also be given to ad-hoc employees, similar to regular government employees.

Mr Anwar Mahar said the budget failed to provide any relief to the poor, who could neither afford education for his children nor medical treatment. The province cannot prosper without progress in agriculture, which in turn cannot develop without water, he said, adding that the only river in Sindh had no water, while that underground was not suitable for cultivation.

Begum Gulzar Unnar defending the budget, said if compared with previous years, the present budget was balanced in which education, health and communications sectors had received due attention.

Ms Shazia Marri said no improvement in law and order could be achieved by just raising funds for police, while referring to the deteriorating law and order situation. Humera Alwani said the total budget had been projected at Rs125 billion, which included Rs85 billion as NFC share and Rs15billion from generation of revenue.

This was only Rs100 billion, showing a deficit of Rs25 billion, however, only Rs5 billion was shown as deficit, she added. In the end, Mr Arif Mustafa Jatoi from the treasury benches, had just taken the floor, when the speaker at 5.30pm called it a day to meet again on Thursday at 9.30am.