Sindh Assembly approves provincial budget amid opposition's protest

(Karachi) Sindh Assembly has approved the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2021-22, amid protest by the opposition benches, local media reported on Friday.

Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani chaired the session. During the proceedings, lawmakers from the opposition benches shouted slogans and surrounded the speaker’s rostrum. They also pasted banners with slogans against the government.

The ruckus by opposition parties compelled Speaker Durrani to suspend all the speeches and gave the floor to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

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After the CM concluded his speech, the Sindh assembly approved the budget for the fiscal year 2021-22. Later, the speaker adjourned the assembly session till June 28 (Monday).

Sindh budget 2021-22

On June 15, Sindh announced the budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 with an estimated outlay of Rs1.48 trillion.

The current expenditure of the province is estimated at Rs1.14 trillion, while the development component is projected to be Rs329 billion, which includes Rs222.5 billion of the provincial ADP, Rs30 billion for district ADP, foreign project assistance at Rs71 billion, and Rs5.4 billion in Federal PSDP grants.

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CM Murad said that in the upcoming fiscal year, the provincial government intends to create 2,600 jobs, and aims to complete 1,033 schemes.

Talking about the health sector, CM Murad said funds to the tune of Rs24.7 billion have been allocated specifically to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Over 960 new posts will be created at different levels of health management, said Murad.

An amount of Rs18.3 billion has been proposed for the purchase of drugs and medicines while Rs2 billion is being allocated to purchase PCR testing kits.

Moving to education, CM Murad said this is the single most important factor that contributes to the development of a country. The provincial government has allocated Rs277.5 billion, up from the current Rs244.5 billion. The provincial government has increased ADP allocation for the education sector to Rs26 billion, he stated.

An amount of Rs1.2 billion has also been allocated for scholarships to students securing the highest grades in SSC, HSC educational boards of Sindh, he said.