Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan has said that the first draft of the provincial budget for 2005-06 has been completed and is ready for review to ensure that all needs of the province have been taken care of. He was talking to Business Recorder at the Governor House on Tuesday.
The governor said that it would be premature to talk about the exact size of the budget but in view of the inclusion of new schemes and development projects in the annual development plan 2005-06 and increase in the expenditure due to rise in prices and cost of security arrangement the size of the budget might increase by 10 to 15 percent. At the same time, he said, fresh recruitment in different departments and expansion would call for more money.
He said that the National Finance Commission Award (NFC Award) should have been finalised by now. Delay in its announcement is worrisome, "but we have taken measures to absorb its shocks", he added and said that "Sindh's stand on resource distribution formula is convincing and judicious, and we firmly stand by it".
He said that to raise revenue collection no new taxes would be imposed and at the same time there would be no readjustment in rates. However, areas which have not been taken into tax net should be brought into it. "We are trying to identify such areas which can be brought into tax net," he said.
He said that some of the areas from where entertainment tax in the form of central excise duty was being collected are either becoming less profitable or are being shown as loss making sector. The revenue collection in this head of account is decreasing.
The governor said that efforts were being made to increase industrial production, encourage local investment in trade, commerce and industry, bring law and order under control, and make all industrial zones either within the jurisdiction of Karachi or under other districts' lucrative for investments.
He said that in the coming budget emphasis would be on development of infrastructure in and around the industrial estates. "Market-to-farm roads, provision of potable water, sewerage and electricity supply is our priority," the governor said.
He said he knew that organised crime, including street crimes, were not without the support of crime Mafia but these had been identified and would be eliminated in the coming months.
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