Discriminatory allocations: Barbs fly as opposition cries foul over funds

MQM claims several of current year’s schemes for Karachi have been removed from upcoming year’s budget

KARACHI:

The first session of the Sindh Assembly after the announcement of the budget was unsurprisingly chaotic. The opposition members cried foul against the supposed neglect of their constituencies in the proposed development schemes. They blamed the bureaucracy of embezzling the funds instead of using them for the schemes.

The most vociferous of the antagonism came from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), who took up the issue of the rural and urban division, claiming that rural areas had been allocated more funds while Karachi, which contributed 90 per cent of the province's revenue, was ignored.

"I challenge the finance minister and can prove that only Rs18 billion have been allocated for Karachi instead of Rs49 billion as claimed in the budget speech," said MQM MPA Mohammad Hussain. He said that many development schemes, announced in the current year's budget (2014-15) for Karachi and Hyderabad, had been excluded from the budget books this year. "The budget books reflect conspiracies to create discrimination in rural and urban areas," he said in an emotional speech, adding that Rs10 billion were allocated for Karachi in the outgoing year, but only Rs4 billion were released and a meagre amount was utilised from it.

Hussain revealed that lawmakers of his party had proposed 158 schemes last year (2014-15) and 158 development schemes this year (2015-16), not a single one of which had been incorporated in the budget documents. A total of 97 development schemes worth Rs19 billion were added to the current year's budget for Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas, but there are no details of these schemes in the next year's budget, he said. "This means the government has defied the provincial assembly mandate that passed these schemes last year."

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Hafeezuddin questioned why development funds were not released to his party MPAs. "Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz and MQM members have utilised their development funds, but the government has not released the amount meant for our party's MPAs. When will this discrimination end?" he questioned.   "Bad governnance, favouritism and corruption are on the rise in Sindh," he said, suggesting bringing reforms to the police by giving them full authority and independence to perform their duties.  "Let us get rid of the paramilitary forces and strengthen our own police," he said.

PPP's Rehana Leghari indirectly criticised the MQM for adopting a double-standards policy by benefitting from the government and protesting against it. "PPP has done record development work in Sindh. They are making a fuss in the session to get some benefit," she said. "The reconciliation policy of our leader, Asif Ali Zardari, has protected you otherwise you would have been in jail."

Dilawar Qureshi of the MQM also pointed out the missing projects that were part of last year's budget. "There was a separate provision for the establishment of cardio, kidney and pediatric institutes in Hyderabad in the current year's budget with total allocation of Rs900 million," he recalled. "But there is no mention of these projects in next year's budget documents," he said. Qureshi also referred to OPD complex scheme that was supposed to be established in Civil Hospital Karachi last year.  "You are not capable of utilising the funds. Why are you making a joke by showing us dreams in the budget books?" he questioned.

PPP MPA Nasir Shah tried to justify the government's expenditures. He presented a list of roads, colleges, universities and schools being built by the PPP in Sindh.  "Please go and see the roads in rural Sindh, especially in Tharparkar, Sukkur, Khairpur and Mirpurkhas, instead of indulging in unnecessary criticism," he said.  MQM's Khalid Ahmed replied that the government's progress report claimed to have finished the work on the Jam Sadiq Bridge, which was still blocked for the traffic.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2015.