K-P Assembly approves three grants worth Rs6.52b

Govt uses numerical superiority to reject all cut motions

PESHAWAR: The provincial assembly on Tuesday approved three demand grants of different departments worth a total of Rs6.52 billion in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2019-20. At the same time, the provincial finance department has rejected all cut motions proposed by the opposition through a majority vote.

The opposition benches have threatened to take the provincial government to court over the budget for depriving them of development funds.

The budget session in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly resumed on Tuesday morning to review the 61 demand grants and 680 cut motions. The day’s orders showed that the assembly had approved three demands for grants, including those from the provincial assembly, general administration and the finance department.

A solitary cut motion was submitted from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Iftikhar Mashwani, but he later withdrew his motion.

Opposition members including Awami National Party’s (ANP) Sadar Hussain Babak, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal’s (MMA) Inyatullah Khan, Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Nighat Orkzai, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Sadar Aurangzeb Nalota, PPP’s Sahibzada Sanaullah, PML-N’s Sobia Shahid, PPP’s Ahmad Kundi, MMA’s Humaria Khatoon, MMA’s Mehmood Ahmed, and ANP’s Bahdur Khan expressed their severe reservations on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2019-20.

They further claimed that even some members of the treasury benches were also annoyed at the budget.

The opposition members expressed their shock and resentment at how they have been ignored in the distribution of development funds, adding that even during the tenure of the previous chief minister Pervez Khattak’s regime, the provincial government had never deprived them of development funds, nor have they ever have declined requests from opposition members to meet.

They lamented that K-P Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has rarely attended sessions of the provincial assembly.

Claiming that public servants (bureaucrats) appear to be the real masters in the PTI-led provincial government, the opposition members claimed that some treasury members have also taken up refuge in the opposition’s corner.

They announced that the combined opposition could take the proposed provincial budget to court as “the incumbent government was dealing with opposition as if Hitler was in the driving seat.”

K-P Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani abruptly interrupted the opposition members, warning them that they cannot use undemocratic language during the session.

The opposition, though, resumed their criticism of the provincial government and the budget they have proposed.

They stated that despite directions from the Peshawar High Court (PHC) no funds were allocated for them by the finance department.

ANP members claimed that the provincial government was targeting opposition members through various institutions in the name of accountability.

We present ourselves for any sort of accountability, but only ask for proof of our corruption to be filed rather than making a mockery of accountability in the country, they said.

They also criticized the current budget, claiming that it had been drafted behind closed doors with zero input from either the public or the business community.

Instead, they were of the view that the budget had been created to serve a particular class only.

Responding to the barbs of the opposition, K-P Law and Justice Minister Sultan Muhammad Khan conceded that the provincial budget was drafted in the federal capital. On administrative reforms, he said that he will supervise the performances of commissioners, deputy commissions.

Provincial Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra said that the budget situation now was completely different from that of the past.

Previously, he said that the opposition benches were deprived of their development funds but now, they have more than tripled the district budget from Rs55 billion to Rs162 billion.

“We have imposed new taxes, while we have enhanced its ratio in the budget for 2019-20, while we have decreased the administrative allocation to make greater room for the development budget,” Jhagra said, adding that Rs2 billion have been allocated for special initiatives for women in the province.

The opposition benches, though, opposed a demand for grants worth Rs3.92 billion from the administration department. However, the demand sailed through the assembly after 52 members voted for the motion while 24 opposition members voted against.

The second demand for grant, from the finance department, was for Rs2.25 billion. The opposition also called for a count on passing the demand.

The house obliged but it was discovered that 52 members of the treasury benches voted in favour while 24 opposition members voted against.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2019.