The National Assembly on Sunday approved as many as 19 demands for grants of Rs 183.364 billion for Cabinet Division after rejecting 115 cut motions tabled by opposition through majority votes. The demands for grants of the Cabinet Division and its attached departments moved by the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for the next fiscal year in the National Assembly were opposed by the opposition parties.
The same was defended by the Minister in-charge of the Cabinet Division, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed. The House approved demands for grants by a majority vote. The House approved Rs 2.11 billion for the Establishment Division, around Rs 11.357 billion for Cabinet Division, Rs 444.181 million for Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC), Rs 1.075 billion other expenditure of Establishment Division, Rs754.16 million for the Prime Minister''s Office.
The demands for grants of Rs 205.487 million was approved by the National Assembly for the Board of Investment, Rs 55.458 million for the Prime Minister''s Inspection Commission, Rs 6.221 billion for Atomic Energy, Rs 75.667 million for Stationary and Printing, Rs 13.944 billion for Capital Administration and Development Division, Rs 430.353 million for Climate Change Division, Rs 17.179 billion Development Expenditure of Cabinet Division and Rs75 billion other development expenditure of Cabinet Division outside Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
Demands for grants of Rs 1.505 billion for development expenditure of Capital Administration and Development Division and Rs 52.615 billion capital outlay on the development of Atomic Energy were also approved.
Responding to the cut motions, the Minister in-charge of the opposition stated that the Board of Investment (BOI), working under Cabinet Division, was able to attract $29 billion since 1997 and did not fail to deliver. The Minister said that the role of National Electric Power Regulator Authority (Nepra) was determination of tariff and if the price of electricity increases because of thermal generation, the tariff would also go up.
Speaking on cut motions, opposition members said that more than 12 departments functioning under the Cabinet Division, which is being handled by the Prime Minister, had failed to deliver.
They said that transparency in accountability could not be ensured as long as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) would function under the Prime Minister.
They underlined the need for greater autonomy of NAB. Some members regretted that Rs 440 million had been allocated for cultural activities in the budget of Cabinet Division when the country was passing through difficult economic situation. Sheikh Rashid Ahmed of the Awami Muslim League said that the low recovery rate and non-payment by provincial governments, Azad Kashmir and federal government departments was a major factor behind the financial problems of the power sector. He expressed the fear that the government might resort excessive billing from electricity consumers in a bid to recover the losses and make payments to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
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