Sindh is seeking a better agreement with the federal government for taking over control of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) and Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sesco) as well as for running power distribution network. This was stated by Sindh Finance and Energy Minister Syed Murad Ali while replying questions of lawmakers in Sindh Assembly on Thursday.
Reiterating that the Constitution has assigned the control over power distribution system to provinces, he said: "Pakistan's power crisis will be solved by Sindh as the province has coal, solar and wind resources to generate electricity." Replying to another query, the minister said that a project to generate gas from coal had entered into its final phase. The project called "2x50 MW Power Generation" by Syngas will initially produce eight to 10 mega watts of power. This phase will be completed at a cost of Rs 8898.700 million within 30 months from the first release of funds made on September 9, 2012, he said.
Elaborating, he said that the first two phases of the project which include development of Gasifier and Syngas Purification have been completed at a cost of at a cost of Rs 490.80m and Rs 494.450m, respectively. Both the phases of the project were financed by federal government, he added.
Later, the treasury benches under the pressure of opposition members set up a parliamentary committee to find out causes behind the Thar famine which had claimed deaths of a large number of children. The committee has been asked to submit its report within a month. According to a notification issued on January 15 this year, the committee's convenor will be Syed Murad Ali Shah while its members include Mahesh Kumar Milani, Mir Hayat Khan Talpur, Muhammad Nawaz Chandio, Zafar Ahmed Kamali, Ameer Haider Sherazi and Saeed Khan Nizamani.
Debating a privilege motion, Leader of the Opposition in the house, Shaharyar Khan Mahar, accused the government of politicising the relief activities and claimed that the wheat was being provided to the draught-affected people on the basis of their political affiliations.
Asserting that his privilege of being a provincial legislator had been breached, he said that though his demand for the formation of a committee of lawmakers to ascertain facts behind Thar catastrophe was made through a resolution adopted by the house on November 10, last year, it remained unattended for so long.
Accusing the previous governments of their negligence in Thar, provincial Health Minister Jam Mehtab Khan Dahar claimed: "Our government has done much better." He said that though the present government could not change the natural catastrophe, it was working to extend better services to patients in Thar district - where reports on a daily basis suggested children were dying because of malnutrition.
"Some 23 [4X4] jeeps have been supplied to Thar for providing healthcare services in villages," the minister said, adding that the government has deputed doctors on special package to provide better healthcare facilities to patients. Around 1700 to 1800 OPDs are taking place daily, he added.
An adjournment motion, which MQM's Muhammad Hussain had tabled in the house on the shortage of potable water in the city's district West, failed to sail through in the house on the basis of low voting after Sindh Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah objected to the motion. The house introduced a bill called "The Sindh Disabled Persons [Employment and Rehabilitation] Bill, 2014. However, Murad Ali Shah sought an amendment to rephrase the bill's title from 'disabled' to `special'.
Shortly afterwards, deputy Speaker Shehla Raza, who was chairing the house, read out another government bill called "The Sindh Allied Health Professional Council Bill, 2014" for consideration. But, Murad Ali Shah sought postponement of the bill till Friday.
The chair also announced that the Sindh Governor had given his assent to a number of bills which include The Sindh Eye Surgery (Restriction) Bill, 2014, The Sindh Tuberculosis Notification Bill, 2014, The Sindh Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2014, The Altaf Hussain University at Karachi Bill, 2014, The Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto University at Shaheed Benazirabad Bill, 2014, The National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (Sindh Administration) Bill, 2014. The Sindh Universities and Institute Law (Amendment) Bill, 2014, The Larkana Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2014, The Sindh Public Private Partnership (Amendment) Bill, 2014, The Sindh Epidemic Diseases Bill, 2014, The Sindh School Education Standards and Curriculum Bill, 2014, and The Sindh Employees' Old-Age Benefit Bill, 2014.