KARACHI: The treasury on Friday continued debate of the provincial budget here Friday for the second sitting.
A lawmaker of the ruling PPP, Rooma Sabahat, sought an increase in the jobs quota for transgender community and religious minorities. She also demanded cancellation of licenses of wine shops. She told the house that liquor consumption and its business is forbidden in all religions, asking the Sindh government to revoke licenses issued for the religious minorities to run wine shops. She; however, called the budget “people-friendly”.
PPP lawmaker, Makhdoom Fakhar Zaman said that the government has introduced Benazir Hari Card and Mazdoor Card in this budget, keeping in view the soaring inflation.
He said that the fiscal plan has earmarked a hefty allocation for the education sector, but expressed disappointment over an incomplete project of upgrading a primary school to the middle school.
Maleeha Manzoor of the PPP called the fiscal plan as “peoples’ budget”, saying that it transpires late Benazir Bhutto’s vision. She lauded her party for “maximum” budgetary projects for women such as women agriculture workers project.
Nida Khuhru added that the budget has increased funds for all sectors. She informed the lawmakers that her party’s government is developing peoples’ housing project as an alignment to its manifesto.
Dr Fouzia Hameed of the MQM said that the government collects sales tax from the urban centres but spares the rural areas from agriculture taxation. A majority of taxes are levied on the cities, she clamoured over the lack of uplift schemes for the urban centres.
Muhammad Ali, a PTI-backed lawmaker, regretted that the fiscal plan failed to envisage a mega uplift project for Karachi, demanding of the government to allocate Rs500 billion for the city development.
MQM’s Syed Farhan Ansari also clamoured over the deteriorated road infrastructure in his constituency, saying that situation is grim in Gulshan-e-Iqbal despite the residents of his electoral locality are taxpayers. He demanded of the government to allocate land for graveyards in Karachi.
Hari Ram of the PPP said that the budget has given importance to the agriculture sector, with an allocation of Rs58 billion for the next fiscal year. He warned that farmers will stop growing wheat crops if they are not paid as per the support price.
Taj Muhammad Mallah of the PPP said that the government should establish a medical college in Badin. MQM’s Shoukat Ali said that the agriculture and irrigation sectors should see a wider focus in the budget.
Sher Muhammad Mugheri of the PPP lauded his party’s Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for an “excellent” budget 2024-25. He called it a peoples’ budget. MQM’s Shariq Jamal said that the province could not see any growth in the past 16 years.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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