Cabinet decides to write off Rs7.2b bad debts

In a move to clear bad debts, the provincial cabinet in its third sitting within the last two weeks took up an important agenda and decided to write off Rs7.2 billion soured loans advanced during 1982-83, 1992-93 to different government departments and organisations. Many organisations such as Sindh Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) and Karachi Transport Corporation (KTC) have shut down long ago, however, the sums advanced to them were an undue weight on the balance sheets and therefore as per rules these bad debts were written off.

The cabinet also decided to launch e-registration, e- mutation, and e-crop assessment project under the Board of Revenue and decided to allot land for the establishment of state-of-art Industrial Enclaves in Sukkur and Hyderabad. The meeting chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah at CM House on Thursday was attended by provincial ministers, advisors, special assistants and officials of different departments.

After the meeting, Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon addressed the media and said that old loans of different government departments and organisations from 1982-83 to 2012-13 stood at Rs7.2 billion may be written-off following the recommendation by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Sindh Assembly Subcommittee on Finance. The record of these advances was now untraceable, he said. Referring to the cabinet decision, the minister said that Rs174.863 million loans advanced to private parties for the period from FY 1982-83 to FY 1992-93 were also long outstanding for which the record is neither traceable nor recoverable.

"The cabinet discussed the matter and approved the writing off the loan of Rs7,204,280,508 outstanding against the government organisation and directed the finance department to inquire into the loan of Rs174,863,627 advanced to the private organizations or parties," the minister said. Among other departments of which the loans have been written off include Sindh Cooperatives Bank Rs27.5 million, forest dept Rs4.5 million, Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) Rs1.4 billion, Sindh Sugar Corporation Rs40.12 million, Sindh Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) Rs666.35, SRTC Rs200 million, Karachi Transport Corporation (KTC) Rs253.2 million, Local Govt Naushehroferoze for salaries Rs30 million, Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd Rs263.48 million, Kotri Surface Drain Rs26.18 million, Hyderabad Electric Supply Corporation Rs450,000, DCO Tharparkar Rs44,895, Karachi Development Authority Rs839.86 million, Wapda Rs162,01 million, Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur Rs900,000, Food dept Rs9.52 million, Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) Rs2.55 billion, and DCO Hyderabad Rs682.1 million.

Autism centre On the other hand, the special assistant to CM on Department Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPD) Sadiq Memon told the cabinet that the Parents Voice Association has requested the government to support the construction of Ujala-II Center for imparting different services such as special education, vocational training, family training, healthcare, therapies including speech, behavior, occupational and physical and transpiration. The cabinet was told that at Ujala-I the persons with disabilities were catered with Down Syndrome, Intellectual Disabilities, and cerebral Palsy. Currently, the facilities were imparted to 100 students. During the briefing it was disclosed that the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) has allotted 400 square yards of amenity plot to Ujala-II and approved the plan for the basement, Ground floor plus four floors building. Different philanthropists are also supporting them. Ujala-II will impart different services such as an early intervention center, vocational training, special education, habilitative therapy center, a newborn screening lab, schizophrenic clinic, hostel, and research training.

The chief minister said that all services under one roof for the first time in the province for people with autism and other issues. The cabinet decided that its DEPD department would establish partnership with Ujala C enter and approved Rs200 million grant-in-aid for 2023-24 to complete their centre.