Sindh may not be able to disburse govt employees’ salaries, CM tells cabinet

Presiding over a meeting of the Sindh cabinet on Thursday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said if the decline in the transfers to Sindh from the federal divisible pool persisted, he feared that the provincial government would not be able to disburse salaries to its employees in the coming months.

The cabinet meeting held at the New Sindh Secretariat was attended by provincial ministers, advisers, Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Shah and others. There were a total of 14 items on the meetings’ agenda, including the confirmation of the minutes of the last cabinet meeting.

Lamenting the shortage of funds, the CM said it had badly affected the development projects of the provincial government. He told the cabinet members that the revenue transfers from the federal divisible pool, straight transfers and grants constituted 78 per cent of the gross provincial revenues.

The federal government during the nine-and-a-half months of the current financial year so far, had transferred only Rs406 billion to Sindh against a share of Rs526 billion, which had resulted in a shortfall of Rs119 billion for the province, the CM said.

Compensations

The cabinet discussed and approved three compensation cases for the heirs of slain policeman Farooq, the heirs of three labourers killed in Larkana and the affected people of the Thar Coal and Gorano Dam projects.

The CM said police constable Farooq who had died in the attack on Mufti Taqi Usmani on March 22 had seven children, three of whom were visually impaired. Murad said he had earlier recommended a grant of Rs10 million, two jobs and one plot for the family of the martyred constable but he was now recommending an additional grant of Rs10 million. The cabinet approved the compensation.

The cabinet recommended a total of Rs1.5 million in compensation for the heirs of three labourers, who were shot dead in Larkana. The meeting also approved Rs77.5 million compensation for the 471 affected families of Thar Coalfield Block-II and 757 families of the Goranoproject in Thar.

Promotions, laws

The cabinet took up the cases of time scale-based promotions of government employees on the demand of the All Pakistan Clerk Association (APCA).

The APCA had demanded that cashiers, accounts clerks, other junior staff and category-II accounts officers and assistant accounts officers be awarded higher grade upon the completion of five years of service and then after 10, 15 and 20 years. The cabinet approved the upgrading of these isolated positions.

The cabinet also referred the matter of time scale-based promotions of lower staff of grade one to grade four of the school education department to a cabinet committee to give its recommendations within a month.

The cabinet approved an amendment in the Sindh Advisors (Appointments, Powers, Functions, Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 2003 and also approved the enactment of the Sindh Explosive Act, 2019 in which the punishment for causing explosions, manufacturing and possessing explosive materials and similar crimes had been defined. The bill was referred to the assembly and the home secretary was directed to frame the rules.

Graveyards

To resolve the issue of shortage of graveyards for both the Muslims and the minorities in Sindh, the CM constituted a cabinet committee to identify lands in Karachi and other district headquarters of the province and make recommendations to the government within a month. for the allotment of land for graveyards.

Displaced shopkeepers

On the request of Ghani, the cabinet approved a proposal to identify ways to accommodate the shopkeepers whose shops had been razed in the anti-encroachment drive.

Murad directed the local government minister to work out a proposal before the next cabinet meeting for the allotment of shops, open spaces or the parking plaza in Saddar to the affected shopkeepers of Saddar and other areas who had lost their shops and small establishments in the anti-encroachment operations.

Sugar cane price

The cabinet also approved the minimum purchase price of sugar cane for the crushing season 2018-19 at Rs182 per 40 kg.

On a recommendation of the home department, the cabinet delegated the powers of granting B-Class to the convicted prisoners under the Pakistan Prisoners Rules 1978 to the home secretary.

The cabinet also delegated to the home secretary the powers of granting temporary parole to convicted prisoners to attend marriage ceremonies of blood relatives. Earlier these powers were vested in the chief minister.

The meeting also approved the transfer of some land to the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company. It also delegated some powers to seven attached departments of the energy department.