Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Tariq Hameed has disclosed by September this year feasibility of Akhori Dam would be completed, while they were working on the feasibility of Dasoo Dam. He was talking at the post-budget seminar, which was organised by the Pakistan National Forum (PNF) here on Saturday. On the issue of Kalabagh Dam, he said with addition of Akhori Dam possibility they have the options to opt for other big dams including Basha Dam. "Small dams were for local consumption only," he added.
On the issue of Withholding Tax, he said it did not apply to 80 per cent of Wapda customers, only 20 per cent of them have to pay the Withholding Tax.
While talking to newsmen, Tariq Hameed said Punjab government's scheme for providing electricity meters to small farmers at subsidised rate on the condition that Wapda lower the peak-hour electricity tariff for rural areas was meant for farmers with land-holding less than 12.5 acres.
He further said that in that connection they have sent a request to National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to lower the tariff for rural areas.
According to him, the two departments of Wapda did differ on the specification of locally manufactured electricity meters, which was settled by a committee that was constituted to resolve the matter. This was conveyed to the Prime Minster Secretariat, which was investigating an allegation levelled by a local company that Wapda was using faulty electricity meters that was showing 25 per cent less than actual reading.
Earlier, former Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz, Shahid Hafeez Kardar, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi and LCCI President Mian Misbahur Rahman also addressed the seminar. They all termed the budget as anti-people and pro rich. They said that the economic philosophy was capitalism based, which did not help in reduction of poverty, while Federal Budget 2005-06 has failed to address the question of growing poverty in the country. They saw economic growth as jobless, ruthless, voiceless, futureless and rootless.
On 8.4 per cent economic growth, they were of the view that the figure was attained with the help of very favourable weather conditions, which led to bumper crops. They pointed out it would be difficult to sustain the 8.4 per cent economic growth with only 16.8 per cent investment ratio, We have to push that figure up to 24 per cent in order to keep the economic growth at the level. "This was only possible if there was political, and law and order stability, which was not the case at present in the country. Hence, many investors refused to invest in Pakistan," they added.
According to them, inflation was affecting all sectors of economy and would pose a problem for attaining high economic growth. The government's tight monetary policy would have a negative impact on the industries, however, if it left the matter unattended the fiscal deficit would go up.
The speakers also criticised low spending on social sector. They were of the view that developed countries' success story laid in the development of human resource development, which we lacked. In fact, in that budget, spending on education has decreased from 2.6 per cent to 1.8 per cent," they added.
Riazuddin, economic advisor to State Bank of Pakistan, also spoke on the occasion, in which he highlighted the salient features of the Budget 2005-06.
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