Responding to a call attention notice jointly tabled by Dr Nadeem Ehsan, Sajid Ahmed, Asif Hasnain and Khush Bakht Shujaat, the minister said that there was a gap between demand and supply, but the situation would normalise after the exercise to remove mud and debris from canals was completed.
He rejected the allegation of multiple tariffs and informed the house that a uniform tariff was charged all over the country. He said that the ministry did not fix the tariff, rather it was set by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra).
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Syed Naveed Qamar, on a point of order, told the house that gas load management was being conducted equally across the country and the schedule had been set in consultation with industrialists and other stakeholders. He, however, expressed the hope that gas supply would improve next week, particularly to Faisalabad.
Minister of State for Finance Hina Rabbani Khar told the house that the reformed general sales tax (RGST) bill is aimed at ensuring documentation of the economy.
“RGST is just meant to document the economy rather than resource mobilisation,” Khar said during question hour. “The government will accommodate all recommendations to improve the bill without compromising the spirit of the bill,” she remarked.
She dispelled the perception that the RGST would be implemented without taking parliament into confidence. “Had there been any such intention on the part of the government, it would not have wasted much time on consultation with political parties,” she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2010.
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