Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah PHOTO: ONLINE
“This is against the commitments and announcements made by the prime minister and an injustice with the people of Sindh,” said the chief minister (CM) while presiding over a review meeting of the PSDP on Monday.
Finance and development minister Murad Ali Shah, while briefing the CM, said that 25 on-going development schemes in Sindh have been allocated Rs12.05 billion in the proposed PSDP, which the CM termed ‘peanuts and injustice with Sindh’.
“Sorry to say his announcements have been ignored,” said the CM while referring to the prime minister’s plans of rehabilitation of the Guddu Barrage and starting a motorway from Hyderabad to Sukkur.
Talking about new schemes in the next PSDP, Murad said the federal government has included 180 new schemes worth an estimated Rs644.5 billion for which Rs120.77 billion have been earmarked.
In the proposed PSDP, Punjab has been given 26 new schemes worth over Rs140 billion against which Rs16.59 billion have been allocated. Balochistan has been given 28 schemes worth Rs43.43 billion with an allocation of Rs28.3 billion. Sindh has been given 11 schemes worth Rs13 billion with an allocation of Rs6.5 billion. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has been given 18 schemes worth Rs11.59 billion with an allocation of Rs2.72 billion.
Gilgit-Baltistan has been given seven schemes worth Rs15.39 billion with an allocation of Rs1.1 billion, Azad Jammu and Kashmi has got two schemes worth Rs3.73 billion against which Rs765 million have been allocated while Islamabad has been given 88 schemes worth Rs195 billion with an allocation of Rs64.6 billion.
Qaim said he would urge the federal government to enhance the allocation of some important schemes, namely the Indus Highway, Jamshoro Sehwan Dual Carriageway, Sukkur Barrage Rehabilitation Project, up-gradation of flood infrastructure, short-term mitigation and preparedness measures to counter sea intrusion, planting of 25 million trees to combat climate change in Sindh, lining of KB Feeder Upper Canal for water supply to Karachi city.
The federal government has allocated only Rs500 million for the K-IV [water project] which should be increased to Rs5.3 billion so it could be completed within two years. This is a Rs25.551 billion scheme in which the federal and provincial governments have equal cost burden share.
Talking about the Rs10.61 billion Makhi Farash Link Canal Project (phase-II), meant to supply water to the Thar coal project, Qaim said “I would urge the federal government to enhance its proposed allocation of Rs50 million to Rs2 billion.” The project’s cost is to be borne equally by the federal and provincial governments.
Additional chief secretary (development) Mohammad Waseem said the federal government has proposed only Rs10 million for lining of distributaries and minors, adding that the allocation should be enhanced to Rs3 billion.
Waseem further told the CM that the share of Sindh in the PSDP for vertical programmes on-going in the province comes to Rs3.93 billion against which only Rs1.76 billion has been marked. The vertical programmes include the expanded program on immunisation, prevention and control of influenza, prevention and control of blindness, hepatitis, TB control programme, malaria and others.
The CM said the Sindh government has provided Rs1.922 billion as bridge financing for vertical programmes of the health department for which “I would urge the federal government to reimburse us.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2016.
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