KARACHI: Concerned opposition lawmakers in the Sindh Assembly on Monday deplored slow utilization of development budget during the passing financial year 2016-17 owing to which basic civic issues of people of the province were far from getting resolved.
The concerned legislators on opposition benches were taking part in the ongoing debate in the Sindh Assembly on quarterly implementation reports of the provincial government’s budget for the current fiscal year. They also decried lack of spending by the provincial government in the constituencies represented by opposition legislators in the province.
Legislator of the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement Jamal Ahmed said that the provincial govt of Pakistan People's Party had reserved funds for development schemes in the constituencies held by opposition lawmakers but later no funds were released for the purpose.
He said that roads in the constituency in Karachi represented by him were in sheer shambles. Although, the federal govt was constructing the Green Line section of the Rapid Bus Transit Service but owing to massive construction activity, environment in areas of his constituency had become highly vitiated.
He said that roads in the area between Kati Pahari and Nusrat Bhutto Colony in Karachi had been in a highly dilapidated state while sewerage was overflowing in the entire area as there were no safety walls around the sewer drains.
He said that there should be no misunderstanding that the mandate of MQM had not vanished as in no manner people could be barred from voting in favour of MQM whether or not the govt allocated funds for doing development in opposition-held constituencies. He said that people in Karachi would vote in favour of MQM come what may.
Nusrat Seher Abbasi of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) said it was a good sign that the house had adopted the tradition of holding a debate on quarterly implementation reports on the current provincial budget. She said that the budget did contain allocation of funds for development works but at the end different provincial government departments could not spend these allocations more than 30 per cent to 50 per cent.
She lamented that the house had been holding debates on the current year’s provincial budget but neither concerned provincial ministers were sitting in the house nor government officers were present in the gallery of the assembly. She said that Sindh chief minister while presenting the current budget last year had termed it a practical budget but despite the change of the provincial chief executive during one year, announcements by the new CM were yet to be implemented.
Dr Zafar Ahmed Kamali of MQM said that volume of current year’s budget was Rs765 billion on which the house had been holding debate. He said that every new provincial budget did contain a lot of benefits for the lawmakers sitting on treasury benches as they were seen roaming around availing massive facilities and privileges. He said the entire Sindh whether it were rural or urban areas had been facing a number of issues as the provincial govt was not at all interested in resolving the basic public issues.
He said that in constituencies of Mirpurkhas city, which were held by the opposition legislators, there had been no development works. He said that provincial government was in the practice of using allocations made in the annual budget to achieve its own vested interests.
An MPA of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Khurrum Sher Zaman said that one could easily gauge the rampant level of corruption in the province after reviewing the budget-related documents. He said that provincial government’s Local Govt Department had shown very poor performance owing to which credibility of provincial govt was completely ruined. He alleged that the provincial govt had failed to collect revenue and tax as per its own targets as defined in the current year’s budget.
PML(F)’s Saeed Khan Nizamani said that PPP’s Sindh govt had completely ignored the opposition-held constituencies in the province. Later, the house unanimously adopted a resolution to greet famous Pakistani cricketer Younus Khan who completed 10,000 runs in Test cricket. The resolution was moved by Khurrum Sher Zaman of PTI.
Sindh Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nisar Ahmed Khan said that Younus Khan was a true national hero after scoring 10,000 total runs in Test cricket. He said that although the cricketer had announced retirement from cricket but it was the desire of the entire nation that he should continue playing for Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Sindh Local Govt Minister Jam Khan Shoro informed the house that water shortage persisting in Hyderabad, Thatta and adjoining areas had been basically due to planned and unplanned power loadshedding by Wapda’s distribution companies in the province for up to 16 hours during a day. He said that the ruling PPP had started doing agitation against unannounced power loadshedding problem in the province as the opposition MQM should also join the protest.
He said that K-IV bulk water supply scheme and similar other water projects being built by provincial govt of PPP would be completed by next year. He said that Sindh govt had been constructing the K-IV project, another two projects for supplying 100 million gallons per day and 65 MGD water in Karachi were being built, while machinery at bulk water pumping stations dating back to the year 1958 was being replaced. The provincial minister said that at present only seven legal water supply hydrants were functioning in Karachi while he himself had demolished 72 illegal water hydrants.