90% allocated to rural Sindh: MQM-P

Express Tribune

9 hours ago

The fourth day of general debate on provincial budget continued in the Sindh Assembly with Deputy Speaker Anthony Naveed in the chair on Thursday. The attendance of government and opposition members in the House was extremely low, indicating a general lack of interest in the budget debate.
Rehan Akram of MQM-P stated that in its seventeenth budget, the Sindh government once again allocated 90 per cent of the schemes to rural Sindh. He alleged that the Anti-Corruption Department has become a department of corruption. He claimed that the Sindh government has effectively turned corruption into an industry. He also highlighted the water crisis and sewerage problems in his constituency.
Environment Adviser Dost Muhammad Rahimoon said, planting more trees is need of the hour for environmental improvement.
MQM-P's Muhammad Daniyal said, our proposals were not included in the budget in the pre-budget session of the Sindh Assembly. There is no drinking water in the city and the mayor claims to wash the streets with 'rose water'.
Provincial Minister for Labour Shahid Thaheem drew attention of the house towards severe load shedding in the province where the power utilities increase outage times by two hours if complaints are lodged.
He mentioned that although gas has been discovered near Shahdadpur, gas is not supplyied to the area. He demanded an increase in hospital funding.
Mahesh Kumar of MQM-P said the budget lacks schemes that would allow the minority community to play a role. He demanded interest-free loans for minorities to help them start businesses.
Dr Fauzia Hameed called the budget a budget of destruction. She said it may benefit a few families, but offers nothing for the public. She emphasised that Sindh's resources should be spent on its people. She questioned why the CM holds so many ministries, asking whether there are no other capable individuals.
Jameel Soomro of PPP said, opposition always terms the budget anti-people, even though many taxes have been abolished in the current budget.
Provincial Minister for Women's Development Shaheena Sher Ali said small loans will be given to women for small businesses.
PPP's Ismail Rahoo pointed out water shortages and other public issues in his constituency.
PTI's Rehan Bandukda mentioned water crisis in his constituency and said that Karachi has become the world's fourth worst city to live in.
Najam Mirza of MQM-P said that discussion must be focused on the budget instead of praising the leadership. He described the budget as salt on the wounds of the people.
Special Assistant for Public Health Engineering Saleem Baloch said, water scarcity is a critical issue. Last year, 29 schemes were completed, and 34 new ones have been added this year.
PTI's Rehan Rajput said in his speech that the Sindh government proudly presented a budget with a Rs38 billion deficit. He claimed that 80 per cent of the budget is spent on just a few departments, which is wrong.
PPP's Mumtaz Jakhrani said that a large number of teachers have been recruited in Sindh, and that NICVD centres are present at every divisional headquarters. He said Rescue 1122 now operates from Karachi to Kashmore and that no one serves the people like PPP.
Senior minister Sharjeel Memon told the Deputy Speaker that a few words spoken during the debate on Thursday should not have been said on the floor. He requested that remarks about chief minister should be removed.
MQM's Muhammad Rashid Khilji praised Sharjeel Memon's work against drug trafficking and questioned why the Excise Ministry was taken from him. The Sindh Assembly session was adjourned until 10am on Friday.