Provinces 'should' mirror Punjab power relief

The federal government wants the provinces to replicate the Punjab government's initiative, led by the PML-N, to allocate funds for providing relief to power consumers using up to 500 units.

While welcoming the relief package announced by the Punjab government, the cabinet in a recent meeting urged other provinces to follow suit and provide similar relief to the less privileged consumers.

The cabinet was informed that to replicate the Punjab government's initiative, Sindh would need to allocate around Rs10 billion, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Rs8 billion, and Balochistan Rs500 million.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif asserted during the meeting that the government was committed to providing every possible relief to the common man.

Elaborating on the recent measures, the premier stated that a sum of Rs50 billion had been diverted from the PSDP 2024-25 to provide relief to consumers using up to 200 units of electricity per month for three months, starting from July 2024.

He welcomed the relief package offered by the Punjab government, which diverted Rs45 billion to provide relief for two months to electricity consumers using up to 500 units.

The prime minister further informed the cabinet that the federal government, in partnership with the Balochistan government, had launched a project worth Rs70 billion to convert 28,000 tube wells in Balochistan from electric power to solar energy.

He stated that Rs50 billion would be contributed by the federal government, while the remaining Rs20 billion would be provided by the Balochistan government.

In a similar vein, the prime minister assured the allocation of Rs28 billion for the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir to provide relief from rising electricity prices.

The cabinet members, Ministry of Finance, and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) were asked to formulate a workable solution to raise resources that could be utilized to provide further relief to the common man.

The prime minister highlighted the government's ongoing efforts to stabilize the economy, drawing parallels to its success in averting default in 2022. He described the agreement with the IMF as a positive indicator for the economy but warned that the conditions related to taxation imposed by the money lender would be demanding and must be addressed.

The premier expressed satisfaction with the government's efforts, noting a drop in inflation from 38 per cent three years ago to the current rate of 11.5 per cent.

He also expressed satisfaction that revenue generation had made a significant leap, exceeding Rs9 trillion in FY 2023-24, with an estimated Rs13 trillion expected in FY 2024-25.

He highlighted rising Foreign Direct Investment, increasing foreign remittances, and growth in agricultural and information technology exports as positive indicators of economic progress.

He expressed hope that the positive momentum in key economic indicators, combined with prudent fiscal policies, would establish a solid foundation for sustained growth.