The Senate was told on Tuesday that from 69 percent to 82 percent water samples were found contaminated or unsafe for human consumption through a survey of 2807 villages of 24 districts across Pakistan, conducted by Pakistan Council of Research and Water Resources.
Major contamination was due to bacteria (coliforms and E.Coli), toxic metals (mainly arsenic), turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDSs), nitrate and floride. In a written reply to a question asked by Senator Chaudhary Tanvir Khan of the ruling government, Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar told the House that of Rs 271 billion outstanding loans, consisted of Rs 216 billion regular loans and Rs 55 billion non-performing loans (NPLs) and that no loan was written off of these disbursed in the last five years.
Speaking on behalf of the Finance Minister, Law Minister Zahid Hamid said that the NPLs were not written off loans and were recoverable, when the bank would initiate cases under the recently-amended law.
In the written reply, it was contended that the names of persons, who obtained loans from the National Bank of Pakistan, was private information of borrowers and was protected under Section 33-A of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 and Section 9 of Protection of Economic Reforms Act, 1992 etc, which stipulate that no bank or financial institution shall divulge any information relating to the affairs of its customers and secrecy of bonafide banking transaction shall be strictly observed.
However, Senators Tanvir, Nauman Wazir, Azam Swati and Dr Jehanzaib Jamaldeni questioned, "Why the identity of the beneficiaries of the loans were not shared with the House and are banking laws more sacrosanct than the parliament".
The senators decried giving massive loans and then there was no hint of recovery of these loans, obtained from the state-owned bank. Zahid Hamid to a volley of supplementary questions said that excessive borrowing was the story of the past and said that the estimated amount of domestic debts to be obtained by the government during 2016-2017 was Rs 1589.9 billion.
Likewise, he explained the estimated amount of foreign debt to be obtained in the next two financial years was expected to be dollars 9743.63 million while repayment of debt would be dollars 8159 million. The House was also informed that the Competition Commission of Pakistan had passed complaints against 152 banks, newspapers, cellular companies and cement factories and car manufacturers.
A question by Senator Ahmad Hassan of the PPP was deferred, as he was chairing the sitting. However, the written information shared with the Senate revealed that under the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, during the financial year of 2015-2016, a total Rs 5.122 billion were disbursed among as many as 80 NGOs.
About the NGOs working in militancy-devastated Malakand division, the Senate was told that funding was extended for water and infrastructure, health and education. Minister for Industries Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi conceded he was not satisfied with the process of induction of board of directors of the Utility Stores Corporation and the related rules needed to be amended. He also assured the House that in future Fata would be not overlooked in appointment of board of directors in the corporation.
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