PA passes Sindh’s Rs2.282tr budget with Rs42bn deficit

The Provincial Assembly of Sindh on Wednesday approved the provincial government’s budget for the upcoming financial year 2023-24 having a value of Rs2.282 trillion with a deficit of Rs42 billion.

The government will spend Rs735 billion on development works in the new fiscal year. The House also passed Rs312 billion supplementary budget for the outgoing financial year 2022-23.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who holds the additional portfolio of the finance department, greeted the PA on the passage of the budget, saying that the proceedings of the budget session of the assembly were held in an orderly manner this time round.

He told the House that Rs55 billion out of the supplementary budget of the current fiscal year was spent on giving subsidy on wheat, while another Rs55 billion was spent on the relief and rehabilitation of the flood victims.

He also informed the legislature that the issues between the Pakistan Peoples Party and the federal government pertaining to reserving money in the new federal budget for the flood victims have been resolved in an amicable manner.

He told the lawmakers that he went to Islamabad several times during a week’s time to take part in the talks on the matter. He disclosed that the Centre has accepted the demands of the provincial government.

The chief executive said his government would get Rs27 billion for the reconstruction of the houses and schools damaged due to floods in the province.

He said his government, with the assistance of the federal government, would reconstruct some 2.1 million houses damaged due to floods in the province. He told the House that the provincial government has reserved Rs25 billion for the housing project.

He said the Centre has agreed to bear 50 per cent of the financial expenses to be incurred on the building of the K-IV water supply project.

He also said the federal government would provide Rs2 billion for the reconstruction of the schools damaged due to floods.

He admitted that his Sindh government has been facing financial problems as the fiscal deficit in the new provincial budget has increased to Rs42 billion.

He appreciated that the proceedings of the House were conducted in an orderly fashion, with the lawmakers acting in accordance with the expectations of their hundreds of thousands of voters.

Meanwhile, the legislature unanimously passed a resolution to pay homage to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on her 70th birthday. The resolution appreciated her untiring services for Pakistan, the nation and democratic order in the country.