NWFP opposition grills government over chief minister and governor house expenses

The NWFP Assembly echoed with objections on the over-expenses by the Governor House and the Chief Minister House over and above the budgeted allocations on Monday. The house also approved seven demands for the next financial year's expenses of Rs 2.53 billion.
The provincial ministers for information Asif Iqbal Daudzai and Minister for Food Fazal Rabbani presented the demands for grants on behalf of the Chief Minister, finance planning and development department.
The finance minister's absence during the budget session annoyed Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan. At one stage he asked the minister concerned to ensure his presence during the budget session. All the cut-motions of the joint opposition in NWFP Assembly were defeated by the ruling alliance when Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan put the motions before the house for voice vote.
The opposition members presented the cut-motions on all demands for grants, criticised performance of the general administration, finance, population planning and development and revenue departments. Interestingly, majority of the movers of cut-motions were absent. Comparing the expenditures of the previous year with that of the current budget, the parliamentary leader of PPP-P Abdul Akbar Khan said that Rs 31.3 million was allocated for the Governor House in the previous budget but, he spent Rs 51 million. Rs 5 million was spent on electricity bills against the sanctioned amount was Rs 3 million.
He said Rs 2.5 million was spent on telephone bills against the allocation of Rs 1 million. In last budget Rs 66.9 million was allocated for the chief minister's secretariat, but it spent Rs 87.3 million. Rs 0.252 million was sanctioned for utility bills but more than Rs 0.4 million was spent. He said that against the allocation of Rs 1.7 million for telephone actual expenditure was Rs 4.4 million were spent during the current financial year.
He was surprised to note that Rs 9.1 million was spent on entertainment against the allocation of Rs 4.4 million. "There is no justification for spending such a huge amount from the national exchequer," maintained the senior parliamentarian.
Bashir Ahmad Bilour of ANP questioned the presentation and passing of the budget when 18 ministers and their staff were getting salaries and facilities when there were only 16 ministers.
Mr Bilour's contentions prompted former senior minister Siraj-ul-Haq to clarify his position reminding that he had surrendered all perks and privileges including official vehicles and phones the very next day of resignation as senior minister. However, his staff and other officials were government servants and they were shifted to their concerned departments.
The government has to regularise the services of 9,000 government employees, who were made surplus by the previous government. He compared the salaries of the NWFP Chief Minister and provincial ministers with those of the chief minister and ministers from Punjab, Sind and Balochistan saying the salaries of NWFP ministers were less than those of the teachers.
On this, Abdul Akbar Khan challenged the minister and referred to page 54 of the white paper saying the real expenditure of the chief minister was Rs 4.1 million contrary to the figure shown in the budget Rs 2.54 million. The salaries of 18 ministers was Rs 3.6 million, but it was shown Rs 7.3 million and asked why the chief minister spent more than Rs 2 million allocated in the budget.
He said that the entire expenditure of the provincial assembly was Rs 150 million but why the same amount was spent on the chief minister house, which has less staff than the provincial assembly. The opposition leader Shahzada Gustasip, Sikandar Sherpao, MMA's dissident Pir Mohammad Khan, Bashir Bilour, Abdul Akbar Khan, Anwar Kaml Khan, Israrullah Gandapur, Jamshid Khan, Murid Kazim, Arshad Khan severely criticised the performance of the planning and development asking the government to wind them up.
Earlier, the Speaker NWFP Assembly Bakht Jehan Khan adjourned the session for 30 minutes, when the MMA dissident Pir Mohammad Khan pointed out lack of quorum soon after the recitation from the Holy Qur'aan.