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WEEKLY
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| Sindh Assembly approves Rs327 billion budget |
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One-minute silence observed for Michael Jackson
Sunday, June 28, 2009
By Imtiaz Ali
Karachi
The Sindh Assembly unanimously approved on Saturday the provincial budget for the financial year 2009-10 having a total outlay of Rs327billion with a Rs16billion deficit. It also contained Rs75billion for development schemes.
The House rejected all cut motions submitted by the opposition to reduce what they called “unnecessary administrative expenditures”. Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah termed the reconciliation policy under which all political parties got united in the province as a giant leap towards the welfare of the people.
He also appreciated the role of the opposition and praised Speaker Nisar Khuhro who listened to 136 legislators speaking on the budget with patience. He announced three salaries for the assembly staffers.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) parliamentary leader Syed Sardar Ahmed said that the budget was approved smoothly and now it was time to implement it effectively. Opposition leader Jam Madad, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Razzaq Rahimoon, National People’s Party (NPP) leader Masroor Jatoi, Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) parliamentary leader Pir Mazharul Haq and Law Minister Ayaz Soomro also congratulated the chief minister and the speaker.
Khuhro observed that PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto had sacrificed her life for the restoration of democracy in the country, and added that the opposition also played a constructive role by expressing their point of view.
Earlier, responding to around 1,240 cut motions from the opposition, Shah said that there were, in fact, only 173 cut motions as there was a lot of repetition, adding that there were 80 cut motions on one subject.
He said that there were 0.7 million to 0.8 million employees of the Sindh government and obviously expenditure would increase as their salaries had been increased by up to 15 per cent.
He said that each minister and advisor tended to hold an open Katchery every 10 to 15 days in 23 districts, and added that it was not advisable for a minister to travel in old vehicles because of status.
He said that there were three to four new schemes worth Rs2 billion, while the stipend for each female student has been increased from Rs1,000 to Rs2,400, and Rs3,400 for female students in Thar in order to encourage enrolment. He said that 10,000 police officials had been recruited and the salary of each police official had been increased to Rs15,000. He added that there were 90,000 police personnel in the province.
Shah said that Rs2.5 billion had been reserved for purchasing sophisticated weapons for the police, and added that compensation for martyred police personnel has been increased to Rs2 million, while a relative of the martyred person would be given a job and an official plot.
The CM said that he had announced a Rs10 million reward for the police party in Larkana that killed 10 notorious dacoits in an encounter, adding that because of these reasons, the opposition’s cut motions bear no basis.
Opposition leader Jam Madad urged the treasury to pass at least one cut motion as a goodwill gesture. The House, however, rejected all cut motions with a majority vote.
Sindh
Finance Bill: The Sindh Assembly also passed the Finance Bill-2009 unanimously. The chief minister said that the government had tried to “rationalize” certain duties and taxes, adding that the stamp duty on heavy vehicles had been rationalized. He said that taxes on hotel rooms which had a per-day rent of Rs1,000 had been reduced from 80 per cent to 40pc in order to help the hotel industry. On the recommendations of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a penalty of Rs5,000 will be imposed for not registering vehicles within six months, he added.
Michael Jackson: The Sindh Assembly observed a one-minute silence for Michael Jackson, the famous pop singer who died in Los Angeles, USA.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
