Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Wednesday passed annual budget for financial year 2016-17 worth Rs 505 billion to defray the expenses to be carried out in various heads by the provincial government. On Tuesday, the house passed only three demands for grant for provincial assembly and departments of finance, treasury, local fund audit, planning & development while the deferred demand for grant of the Administration Department was also passed on Wednesday.
The opposition legislators while speaking on their cut motions criticised the performance of Revenue & Estate and Excise & Taxation Departments. Anma Sardar of PML-N, Zarin Gul of JUI-F and Yasmin Pir Mohammad criticised the performance of the Revenue & Estate Department. They said that the department had pledged the computerisation of land record to abolish Patwari culture in the province. In response to the speeches of opposition legislators, Provincial Minister for Revenue, Sardar Ali Amin Gandapore said that computerisation of land record in district Mardan has been completed and the company working on the computerisation of land record in other districts also. He said that the computerisation of land record will complete by December 2017.
Presenting cut motion on the demand for grant of the Excise and Taxation Department, the opposition legislators including Sardar Hussain Babak, Zarin Gul and Noor Saleem Khan proposed the review of the decision of the issuance of VIP number plates to discourage the VIP culture in the province. Sardar Hussain Babak said that Malakand Division is terrorism affected region and demanded the withdrawal of the extension of Customs Act to the area.
The provincial minister defended the issuance of VIP number plates and said that it issued across the world and if someone has bear the cost they will issue it to them. However, Provincial Minister for Public Health Engineering (PHE), Shah Farman proposed that the VIP number plates should be issued to the vehicles of top tax payers of the province.
The Speaker, Asad Qaiser, later while using his power under Rules of Business Section 148 guillotined all cut motions to pave way for the smooth passage of all demands for grants from the house. The ministers concerned moved demands for grants of their departments concerned one by one and the house adopted it with majority. Provincial Minister for Finance, Muzaffar Said moved Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Bill 2016 in the house which adopted while Authenticated Schedules were also tabled in the house. Later, The Speaker, Asad Qaiser adjourned the proceedings of the house till 3PM of Thursday.