No headway in extra pay for health workers

Centre, Sindh, Punjab submit reports over coronavirus suo moto case

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government along with Punjab and Sindh have submitted their reports in the Supreme Court over coronavirus suo moto case.

The federal government said in its report that the Ministry of Health had announced an additional pay to front-line health workers during the pandemic, however, consultations with the provinces on the issue of additional pay did not yield any positive results.

It said that letters had been written to the provinces regarding increase in the prices and hoarding of life-saving drugs, adding that the provinces would submit their reports on drugs price hike and the hoarding.

The Punjab government in its report said that vehicles for the agriculture department would be procured with Rs29 million for the eradication of locusts. It said that Rs706 million had been allocated to deal with the swarms.

The provincial government said that while there was no shortage of medicines in Punjab, all arrangements were made to deal with the situation in case a shortage of medicines was created. It added that the Punjab government had imposed a strict ban on the hoarding of oxygen cylinders.

The report submitted by the Sindh government stated that from June 23 to July 17, the number of coronavirus cases in the province rose from 72,656 to 111,328. It added that 88,103 patients had recovered in Sindh, which is 79% of the total cases.

According to the Sindh government report, there had been 1,952 deaths from the coronavirus so far. It said that strict action was being taken on the sale of life-saving drugs at high prices and in this regard, Rs1.929,000 fine had been imposed.

The apex court was informed that the Sindh government had extended the lockdown till August 15. The report also said that the provincial government had formulated the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Eidul Azha.

The report also said that annual budget of the province was estimated at Rs1,241.1257 billion, out of which more than Rs3.87 billion had been allocated for the purchase of vehicles. The amount allocated for vehicles purchase was 0.31% of the total budget, the report added.

It said that Rs2 billion had been set aside for the purchase of vehicles for police, more than Rs742 million for Board of Revenue vehicles, Rs293 million for law and parliamentary affairs and judges’ vehicles, and Rs134 million for the purchase of agriculture department vehicles.

The province informed the court that Rs69.181 million had been allocated for health, while Rs632.256 million had been allocated for other 27 departments. The report said that the Sindh government allocated Rs9.26 billion for vehicles during the last three financial years.

The court was informed that the Sindh government on June 24 banned purchase of new vehicles, adding that the ban on new vehicles would apply to both development and non-development budgets. The power to lift the ban was subject to the approval of the provincial cabinet.

The Sindh government’s report also detailed the three-year budget allocations for expenditure. It said that Rs45.70 billion had been allocated for the development of Karachi.

The report said that the total cost of Karachi Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) project was Rs62.67 billion, while Rs1,980 million had been earmarked for the project this year. Besides, the report said, Rs21.82 billion had been allocated for education, which was 13.6% of the total development budget.

The Sindh government had also set aside Rs28.98 billion for health, which was 18.76% of the total development budget, the report said, adding that Rs18.7 billion would be spent on water supply and drainage projects.